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LOS GRINGOS. 



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LOS GRINGOS: 



OR, 



AN INSIDE VIEW OF MEXICO AND CALIFORNIA, WITH WAN- 
DERINGS IN PERU, CHILI, AND POLYNESIA 



& 



BY1LIEUT..WISE, U.S.N. 




RK: 
'SCRIBNER, 

AND 36 PARK ROW. 






Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1849, by 

BAKER AND SCRIBNER, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



Printed by 

C. W. BENEDICT, 

201 "William street. 



f 



«. 



PREFACE. 

The title — Los Gringos — with which this volume has been chris- 
tened, is the epithet — and rather a reproachful one — used in 
California and Mexico to designate the descendants of the Anglo- 
Saxon race ; the definition of the word is somewhat similar to 
that of Greenhorns, in modern parlance, or Mohawks in the days 
of the Spectator. Although many of the scenes were passed in 
those countries, yet the narrative takes a wider range, and 
embraces portions of the South American Continent in Brazil, 
Chili, and Peru, — together with visits to some of the groups of 
the Pacific at the Sandwich, Marquesas and Society Islands. 

The sketches embodied in the narrative were all written on the 
field of their occurrence : the characters incidentally mentioned 
are frequently noms de mer. 

It is not expected by the Author that even the most charitable 
reader will wholly overlook the careless style and framing of the 
work, or allow it to pass without censure ; nor has it been his 
object to deal in statistics, or any abstract reflections, but merely 
to compile a pleasant narrative, such as may perchance please or 



yi PREFACE. 



interest the generality of readers ; and in launching the volume on 
its natural element — the sea of public opinion — the Author only 
indulges in the aspiration — whether the reader be gentle or 
ungentle — whether the book be praised or condemned — that at 
least the philanthropy of the Publishers may be remunerated, 
wherein lies all the law and the profits. 
New York, October, 1849. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PACK 

We sail from Boston, and how we felt.— Cure for Sea-Sickness.— Delights of the 
Ocean. — Crossing the Equator. — What the Mess was composed of.— We become 
reconciled to our Fate. — Pass Cape Frio, and have no Inclination to bivouac on 
the Hocks 1 



CHAPTER II. 

T&io Janeiro, and what is to be seen there. — Life in the City. — Diamonds and 
Levites.— Police.— Cookery and Currency.— The Omnibus Jehu to Boto Fogo . 



CHAPTER III. 

Gloria Hill. — II Cateto. — Architecture. — Visit from a Scorpion, and the Habits of 
other Reptiles.— The Opera.— The Emperor and Court. — The Brazilians think 
of carrying the War into Africa ; . . 



CHAPTER IV. 

"We leave Rio, and march towards the Horn. — Man overboard and drowned.— La 
Plata.— We take an Albatros.— Terra del Fuego.— Pitch of the Cape.— A Marine 
dies.— -How the Yankee Corvette doubled Cape Horn.— What we did for Pas- 
time.— Dr. Faustus.— The Island of Chiloe .....•_• 



viii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

PAGE 

Valparaiso.— Bell of Quillota and Tupongati.— Where and how the Town is built. 
— Birloc hes .—Shops. — The Terraces. — El Almendral.—Carmencita.— Creole 
Ladies. — Tertulias. — The Samacueca.— Climate.— Dust.— The Doncella who 
caught a Flea, and how she did it. — Genera) Bulnes.— Army. — Government and 
Resources. — True Elements of Happiness 27 



CHAPTER VI. 

Weigh Anchor, with some Trouble and Broken Bones.— Bid adieu to Pleasures of 
the Shore. — Islands of St. Ambrose and Felix. — We lose some Shipmates.— Alta 
California.— Monterey 33 



CHAPTER VII. 

Summary of Events Preceding our Arrival. — Difficulties between Fremont and 
Castro.— Operations of Naval Forces. — Skirmish at San Pascual.— Battles of San 
Gabriel and La Mesa. — The Volunteers Disbanded 41 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Town of Monterey.— Our First Impressions.— Days of Barricades.— Sentinels.— The 
Rocky-Mountain Men.— Keg of Whiskey, and the Use it was put to.— The Trap- 
per's little Anecdote concerning Old Ginger and the Indians . . ■ .47 



CHAPTER IX. 

Treaty of Los Angeles.— The Lady that had a Strange Taste in Jewelry.— The 
Disregard of Soap in those Countries. — Visit to an Extensive Establishment. — 
The Dona herself, with her Small Family and Prospects 



CHAPTER X. 

Mission of Carmelo.— Tramp in the Mountains.— Wolves and Venison.— We be- 
come bewildered, but encounter a Guide. — Boudoirs for Damsels. — The Fan- 
dango.— How the Gentlemen amused themselves. — We take to Hunting for 
Pastime.— Climate. — Juaquinito and his Mama. — Flains of Salinas.— Bill Ander- 
son, his Windmill and History.— Wild Geese.— Native Entertainment . . 68 



CONTENTS. is 



CHAPTER XI. 

fag a 
Maritime Alps of California.— Entrance to Bay of San Francisco.— Yerbabuena. 
— Society.— Pranks on Horses.— Saddles. — New York Regiment. — Tho Cannibal 
Emigrants, and the Dutchman's Appetite ; with Baptiste's Remarks thereon. — 
Perils of Emigration 69 



CHAPTER XII. 

Sousoulito.— The Belle of California.— The Bears of the same, who chase us.— 
Angel Island.— Deer and Elk Shooting ?5 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Monterey again.— The Pioneer Newspaper, with the Editor, Dr. Semple. — We 
Sail for the Mexican Coast. — Island of Guadalupe. — Peninsular of Lower Cali- 
fornia.— Jesuits.— Trade. — Ports and Resources. — We blockade Mazatlan. — Re- 
connoisance, and the Ballet that ensued. — Yankee Bombs. — The Ladies deceive 
us.— The Chased Diana 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Cruise of the Rosita. — Anchorage of Venados. — The Oyster-boat.— We received a 
Hostage in Doctor Barret, and learn his Misfortunes. — Change of Position. — We 
take a Prize, and afterwards nearly taken for another. — Set fire to the Dried 
Grass. — A False Alarm. — The Fish that broke Pat's Nose. — Our Supper and 
Attendants.— The Commodore orders us Home . . . . . . .89 



CHAPTER XV. 

Period of the Blockade of Mazatlan.— The Commandante, Telles ; his Habits and 
Hospitalities.— The Frigate takes her Departure.— The Shark.— Anchor in Mon- 
terey the Third Time 99 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Dispatches and Equipments.— Californian Gamesters. — The Vacuero. — Don Her- 
man.— The Youthful Mother and her Gay Deceiver. — We Sup on Eggs. — Mur- 
phy's Rancho.— Pretty Ellen.— Picturesque Location.— Puebla.— Santa Clara.— 
Priests and Indians.— Ladies drying Beef.— Reach Yerbabuena . . . .102 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PAGE 

Sail up the Bay.— Embarcadera of San Jose.— We sleep at a Rancho.— Don Ig- 
nacio proves to be a Scamp.— Puebla. — Architecture and Agriculture. — Mission 
of Santa Clara.— The Cannonier.— The Padres.— The Dandies.— We attend 
Mass. — " The Forwardest Gall of the Mission. "— Bear Hunt with Dan Murphy. 
—Rustic Politeness.— Mission of San Juan.— The Gascon.— Crescencia is taken 
with Fits.— Empirical Practice.- -Get back to Monterey . Ill 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

San Francisco once more.— Head Waters.— Bay of San Pablo.— Village of Sinoma. 
Vallejo.— Captain Swayback.— Hunting.— We Kill an Antelope.— Straits of Car- 
quinez.— City of Benecia.— Mares Island.— Tulares Valley 122 



CHAPTER XIX. 

California becomes tranquil, and the Columbus sails for Home.— Sailors drilled 
on Shore. — We Return to Monterey. — Town increasing. — The Reverend Al- 
calde, and how he collected Treasure.— Indians hung.— Diet and Games of the 
same.— Merendas ..... .130 



CHAPTER XX. 

Final Adieu to Monterey.— Reach Cape San Bias, and San Jose.— We visit Al- 
caldes, and how they passed their Leisure. — Our First Search for the Enemy. 
— When we are offered a Baby, but decline. — Watering Ship, and other Plea- 
santries.— A Small Garrison landed to occupy San Jose 136 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Demonstrations before Mazatlan.— Summons to Surrender.— We land Sailor 
Troops, and occupy the Town.— Positions and Selections for Defence.— Land 
Ordnance.— Ay untamientos.— Mexican Morality .—Piety of the People.— Climate 
and Diseases ... 142 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Burning Launches.— Skirmishing.— A Reefer's Idea of Bullets.— The Retreat.— 
We lose the Road, and are scared. — Affair at Urias. — Ambuscade. — Escaramuza. 
Flight.— Burial of the Slain.— We are presented with a Black Charger, and 
return to the Port .... 1 



CONTENTS. x ; 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

PACK 

Duties of a Garrison.— The Garita.— We Make a Night March, and Surprise 
Ligueras — The Killed.— Lady with them.— Our Trophies. — TheCommandante's 
Wife.— Is the innocent Cause of Murdering a Horse.— False Alarm. — Another 
Night Skirmish ; when the Guide gets a Bullet through his Head, and is Cursed 
by his Family 159 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

How they Marry in Mazatlan.— Fights with Cuchillos. — The Man who is divested 
of part of his Scalp and Ear. — Cures effected — Flying Trip to Urias. — Where we 
take General Urrea's Orderly.— Who is afterwards set free 169 



CHAPTER XXV. 

Mexican Troop pronounce against their Leaders. — We become Poverty Stricken. 
— Lancers attempt to run the Guantlet, and carry away some Buckshot. — De- 
scription of the Casa Blanca, and how we behaved.— Madre Maria and Pretty 
Juana.— The Elite of the Town, who praise us for not beating our Wives . . 173 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Dolores and her Lover ; who is wounded, and who is a Coward.— Lola dies and is 
buried 182 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

£1 Tigre del Norte.— Mr. Bill Foley.— Sociedads.— Circus.— Monte.— Golden Toad 
— Carnival.— Intercourse with Foreign Society. — Hausen and the Hern Hutter. 
Don Guillermo.— While moralising one night we- are nearly impaled.— Our 
Little Housekeeper. — Pita. — Fandango de la Tripa. — Where a Lepero abstracts 
our Sword and Pistols : 186 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

News of the Peace — The Outsiders become complimentary, and pay a visit to 
Madre Maria. — With the Mounted Patrol and Captain Luigi we ride to Veradiilo, 
and disturb the slumbers of Senor Valverde, who. with some hesitation, 
returns with us to the Port, being the last Prisoner of the War. — A Man deserts, 
and we go to the Presideo for him.— General Anaya and Officers.— Conipiis- 
sioners meet and depart in Dudgeon • 194 



xii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

FAG* 

Seige of San Jose. — Defences of Garrison.— The Summons and Parley.— The 
Storming Party.— Mijares Killed with his Forlorn Hope. — The Brave Whale- 
men — Ambuscade and Prisoners. — The Guerrillas begin the Second Siege. — 
Death of M c Lenahan.— The Garrison Beleaguered.— Arrival of the Cyane. — 
Battle and Relief 203 



CHAPTER XXX. 

We Begin a Journey to the City of Mexico. — Disembark at San Bias. — Ride to 
Tepic— Cotton Mills of Barron, Forbes & Co. — Volcanic Masses. — Aquacatlan — 

The Red-hot Patriot Wake of Don Pancho. — Plan de Barrancas. — The Piece of 

Ordnance. — Muchatilti. — Madelena.— How Horses are Hired in the Republic. — 
Race with Banditti 216 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Guadalajara.— Senor Llamas.— The Lovely Senora.— Plaza and Beauty.— The 
Great Bridge. — Old Cypriano-s Superstition regarding Horses' Souls. — Tepe- 
titlan. — Pueblos del Rincon.— The Drowsy Commandante.— City of Leon.— Knife 
Duel.— Mexican Mesons, and the Society therein. — Illumination and Supper. — 
We take Coach and reach Guanajuato. — The English Mint and Machinery. — 
Gaming. — Scenic Views. — Pat is a Deserter. — Don Pancho. — Escape from Los 
Compadres 233 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

Queretaro. — Aqueduct. — Night ride by Post. — The United States Escort.— City of 
:c0 . — We are refused a Drive. — Cathedral. — Palace. — Plaza. — Museum. — 
Sacrificial Stone. — Manners and Customs in the Hells of Montezuma. — Chapul- 
tepec— The Deep Spring where we bathed. — Moleno del Rey.— Paseo . . 251 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1 ureau of Postes. — Depart from the Aztic Capital. — Exemptions of Government 
Exuaordinarios. — Livery Stable Woman at Tepetitlan. — Invited to a Country 
Seat, and dine with Ladies. — We are afterwards kicked by a Horse, but con- 
tinue the journey. — American Deserters. — Encounter Ladrons. and present our 
Passport.— Somebody killed by Mistake. — Excitement in Queretaro.— Traitors 
of bantfatricio.— Official Visits. — The Dignitaries of the Republic. — Breakfast 
with a Brilliant Colonel.— The Alemeda.— We run a Jouist.— Treaty signed . 260 



CONTENTS. xiii 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

PAGK 

Senor Rosa forgets our Escort, and we are scared and nearly coach-wrecked.— 
Mine of La Luz. — rass through Guanajuato to Lagos.— A Pronunciamento — 
Padre Jarauta, who treats us with contempt, and afterwards wishes to make an 
ejemplo. — We bid a Hasty Farewell.— An Ambulating Pulperia.— San Juan de 
Lagos.— Arrieros.— Puente Calderon.— Bathing in the Rio Grande.— The Rayo . 275 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Bull-fight at Guadalajara.— What Fools the Beasts are, and what Brutes the Men 
are — La Comedia.— Antique Guide. — Execution of Robbers. — Tequilla. — Patron 
of the Meson and his Daughters. — Endurance of Mexican Soldiers. — Adapta- 
bility of Western Provinces for Military Operations. — La Nuberrada. — Horse 
Jockeying.— We are made Unhappy. — Bathing in Tepic— Rio Grande and San- 
tiago. — Shower of Water Melons. — Rio San Pedro. — Rosa Morada. — Acaponeta. 
—High Mass. — Tierra Caliente, and Old Tomas, the Poet— We return to 
Mazatlan 287 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Don Guillermo and Senor Molinero.— The Olas Altas, and the gay scenes there 
enacted. — Thieves and Leperos, — How to learn Castilian. — Evacuation of Mazat- 
lan by the U. S. Forces 307 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Sailing of the Squadron.— Cross the Gulf, and arrive in La Paz. — Appearence of 
Vegetation. — How we amused Ourselves. — Fandangos. — Ball on Shipboard. — 
Marine Pic Nic— The Carrera. — The Uncivil Vacuero and his Rude Cattle. — The 
Chowder Party.— Perils and Pearl Fishing. — Hunting.— Game in Lower Cali- 
fornia. — The Cove of San Antonio, and Escape from Boatwreck .... 312 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

What the U. S. Government did to induce the Natives to take up Arms.— The 
Volunteer who shot his Wife.— Little Sam Patch.— Flying Visit to Mazatlan, 
and Last Farewell .... 326 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

We leave Mexico.— Go to the Sandwich Islands, and anchor in Byron's Bay, or 
Hilo.— Natives.— Scenery. — Constables.— Meeting House. — Dialect — Sermon.— 
We Depart for the Interior.— Half-way House. — Society there, and how they cook 
Turkeys.— Volcano of Kilauea.— Frozen Sea o/ Lava.— The Great Crater.— Sul- 
pher Banks.— Return to Hilo . • 329 



Xiv CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XL. 



PAGE 

Hilo. —Education.— Fondness for Liquor.— Favorite dish of roasted Dog, and pro- 
cess of fattening them. — Water Nymphs.— Rainbow Falls. — The Wailuku. — The 
Three-Decker. — Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa 339 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Paipolo Passage. — Maui. — Lahaina. — Cocoanut Tree, and its uses. — The Gov- 
ernor, James Young. — His Fortress — Surf-Swimming by Girls, who gave us 
Lessons 343 



CHAPTER XLII. 

High School of Lahainaluna for Boys.— Other Institutions for Girls.— Character 
of Hawaiians.— Their Crimes and Vices. — Board of Presbyterian Missions. — 
Exaggerations upon Moral Condition of the Natives.— Expulsion of Catholics 355 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

Oahu.— Honolulu.— Rides and Drives in Vicinity.— Society.— The Pali up the 
Nuana.— Saturnalia of Kanakas. — Rage for Horses — Straw Hamlets— and Life 
within them 362 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

King Kammehamma, or the Lonely One.— Ministers.— Presentation at Court.— 
Furniture of the Palace. — Approach of Royalty. — Speeches. — Costumes. — Prin- 
ces of the blood royal, who patronise us. — And what became of Moses . . 368 



CHAPTER XLV. 

We sail from Sandwich Islands.— The Tar of all Weathers.— Weather.— Cur- 
rents and Passage to Marquesas 376 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

Nukeheva. — Bay of Anna Maria. — Style of Head-dress in Vogue. — Tattooing, and 
other Ornaments.— French Garrison.— Physical Characteristics of these Sava- 
ges —Bathing. — King's Residence, where we beheld a Nobleman drunk with 
Arva 380 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 



Visit to a Distinguished Chief. — His House and Attendants. — Babies Swimming. — 
Making Fire with Sticks. — An Ancestor Embalmed, — Catholics. — Vagabonds 
and Deserters. — Whaling Interests 387 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 

Sail from Marquesas— for Society Group.— Tahiti.— Port of Paputee.— The Reef.— 
Shores and Batteries. — Missionaries. — Melville ♦ 393 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

Brown Road.— Semi-Civilization— Excursion to Pomaree Country House at Pa- 
poa. — The Queen and her Hen-coop Habitation. — School. — Fondness for Flow- 
ers. — Native Dinner. — Jack the Head Waiter. — Finger Glasses. — We sleep in 
the Palace, and are Serenaded. — Visit from a Tahitian Noble, and how he con- 
ducted himself. — Coral Groves in the Harbor. — Islet of Motunata , . . 400 



CHAPTER L. 

Trip to the Mountains.— Teina.— Ferry-Boat, By Toanni.— Lofty Cascade. For- 
tress of Faatoar. — Losses by the French. — The Diadem. — We spread a Banquet, 
and the Ladies have an Appetite. — Soiree by French Governor. — Departure . 413 



CHAPTER LI. 

Leave Polynesia.— Accident to Topmen. — The Great Pacific. — Old Harry Green- 
field's Yarn. — The Royal Bengal Tiger, who had a difficulty with the Cook 421 



CHAPTER LTI. 

Callao.— Appearance of the Place.— The Citadel.— Rodil — Road to Lima.— And 
what may be seen in the City. — Rimac. — Public Edifices.— San Domingo 426 



CHAPTER LIII. 

The Clergy Mingling in every-day Panoramas.— Vespers.— Promenades.— Bull 
Fights. — Berlinas.— Sayas y Mantas, and Speculations upon uses and abuses. 
Youthful Lumps of Gold, and Attachment to their Uncles .... 439 



xvi CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER LIV. 



Cathedral.— Viceroy's Palace.— Plaza.— General Castilla.— Museum.— Antiquities. 
—Portraits of Pizarro.— Opera.— The Scene not in the Play 439 



CHAPTER LV. 

Valparaiso Again. — El Dorado. — Rides. — The Yorkshire Dame at the Post "House. 
— Pic-Nics. — Our Lovely Country-Women. — The Terraces. — Monte Allegro . 445 



CHAPTER LVI. 
Homeward Bound, and the Cruise is oyer ...... • 452 



CHAPTER I. 

It was on the last day of summer, 1846, that a large vessel of 
War lay in the stream of Boston Harbor ; presently a dirty little 
steam tug, all bone and muscle, came burroughing alongside. 
The boatswain and his mates whistled with their silver pipes, like 
Canary birds, and the cry went forth, to heave up the anchor. 
Soon the ponderous grapnell was loosened from its hold, and our 
pigmy companion clasping the huge hull in his hempen arms, 
bore us away towards the ocean ; by and by, the unbleached can- 
vas fell in gloomy clouds from the wide-spread spars — the sails 
swelled to the breeze — friends were tumbling over the side — 
light jokes were made — hats waved — cheers given, whether from 
the heart, or not, was a problem, and then there came a short in- 
terval in the hoarse roar of steam, as the pigmy's fastenings 
splashed in the water — then all was silent ; and the stately ship, 
dashing the salt tears from her eyes, turned her prow, in sadness, 
from her native land. 

There were many, no doubt, of those six hundred souls on 
board, who leaving home with the sweet endearments of domestio 
life fresh upon them, were looking forward with blanched cheeks 
and saddened hearts, to years of distant wanderings. And there 



2 CHAPTER I. 



were others, too, equally indifferent, and regardless of the 
future — 

" With one foot on land, and one on sea, 
— To one thing constant never," 

who, perhaps, never had a home — tired of the shore — were eager 
for change or excitement ; but I question much, if there was one 
on board, of all those beating hearts, who did not anticipate a 
safe and joyful return. Alas ! how many of these fragile aspira- 
tions were never realized. Numbers found a liquid tomb beneath 
the dark blue waves, or died a sailor's death in foreign climes, far 
away from friends and kindred, or returned with broken consti- 
tutions, and wasted frames, enfeebled by disease, to linger out a 
miserable existence on the native land they still loved so well. 

A fortnight we sailed moderately and pleasantly in a race with 
the sun towards the equator. The pole star slowly but surely 
declined in the north ; faces began to assume a more cheerful 
aspect ; we became reconciled to our fate ; to banish those hate- 
ful things called reminiscences, which, even though pleasant, only 
make us regret them the more, when gone forever. Thus we 
entered the tropic, and then lay lunging and plunging in the dol- 
drums — clouds dead and stupid, with the sim making all manner 
of gay transparencies, at the rising, and most particularly at the 
setting thereof. Then came another week of una furiosa 
calma — a furious calm, as the Spaniards have it — bobbing about in 
undulating billows, and the tough canvass beating and chafing in 
futile anger. It was thus we learned, those of us who had not 
made the discovery before, what a really animal existence one 
leads on shipboard ; a sort of dozing nonentity, only agreeable to 
those who have no imaginative organizations desirous of more ex- 
tended sphere of action 



CURE FOR SEA SICKNESS. 



It does passibly well to eat and sleep away life — that is, pre- 
suming the dinners be hot and eatable, and nights cool and 
sleepable — in smooth seas, and under mild suns ; but when the 
winds are piping loud and cold, the vessel diving and leaping at 
every possible angle of the compass, with the stomachs of the 
mariners occasionally pitched into their heads, as if they were 
dromedaries, with several internal receptacles apiece, devised pur- 
posely to withstand the thumps and concussions of salt water ; when 
the ship is performing these sub-marine and aerial evolutions 
I take it, as a reasonable being, there can be found a stray 
nook or two, on hard ground, far more comfortable and habita- 
ble. And by way of parenthesis, I beg leave to recommend 
to any and all unfortunate persons given to aquatic recreation, 
and troubled with the disease whilom called sea-sickness, to di- 
vest the mind and body of care and clothing, tumble into a 
swinging cot, and on the verge of starvation sip sparingly of weak 
brandy and water, nibble a biscuit, and a well-roasted potato. I 
made this important discovery after being a sufferer ten years, 
and pledge a reputation upon the strength of that martyrdom, 
of its infallible virtues. 

Indeed, there are but two kinds of sailing at all bearable. I 
allude, of course, to those who take to it con amore, and are 
not compelled to crowd all dimity to weather a lee shore and 
the almshouse ; one where the glorious trade wind fills the belly- 
ing canvas, and the vessel slips quietly and swiftly along with 
the gentlest possible careening ; without hauling and pulling of 
cordage, nor heavy seas, nor heavy rains, but the light, fleecy 
clouds flying gracefully overhead, the waves blue and yielding, the 
watch dozing lazily in the shade, and the decks clean and tidy — - 
it is a pretty sight, to see a noble ship properly manoeuvred, come 



CHAPTER I. 



swiftly up to the wind, the sails laid rapidly aback, with lower can- 
vas brailed up in graceful festoons, and the buoyant hull rising 
and falling on the gentle swell, like the courtesies of Cerito or Ells- 
ler in Sir Roger de Coverley, with all the drapery of dimity flut- 
tering around them. Then, again, in that blue sea of seas, the 
Mediterranean, where more than half the year one may sail over 
level water, with none of the ocean swell, with delightful breezes 
only strong enough to fan the light and lofty sails to sleep, the 
shores of Italy or Spain lifting their green-clad hills along the 
beam, or the ever varying islands of the Grecian Archipelago 
coming and going, as you dart rapidly through their straits. Ah ! 
in those times, and in those seas, ships are possibly endurable, 
but of all monotonies, that of shipboard is the dullest, most weari- 
some and detestable. 

Week after week passed away, one day like another, nothing 
to chronicle save the birth of a sailor's pet in the shape of a tiny 
goat — taking a shark — the usual pious Sunday homily, and on a 
certain occasion one Jem Brooks, whose residence, in company 
with other cherubs, was somewhere aloft in the main-top, whilst 
in the act of dropping a boat into the ocean, some mishap attend- 
ed the descent, and he dropped overboard himself, thereby crack- 
ing the small bone of his leg, with a few other trifling abrasions of 
skin and flesh. Iron life buoys that no one as yet ever did 
comprehend the mechanism of, always fizzing off the port-fires in 
broad day, and enshrouding themselves in utter darkness at night 
when only needed, were instantly sent after the aforesaid Jem 
Brooks, who imbued with the wit and tenacity of his species in 
extremis, seized one of them, and in a short space returned plea- 
santly on board. 

This was all that served to enliven our stupid existence. 



DELIGHTS OF THE OCEAN. 



The winds coquetted with all the perverseness of a spoiled 
beauty, at times blowing provokingly steady, then we went reel- 
ing over the seas, with piercingly blue skies above us, and all 
reconcileable elements to our journeyings, excepting the breeze 
ever blowing so pertinaciously in the wrong direction ; at others 
we managed to cheat Eolus out of a puff, and steal a march upon 
him, right into his breezy eyes, but then again he gave a wink, 
distended his huge cheeks, and blew us far away to leward. It 
was truly trying to the nerves to be crying patience continually, 
when there was no appeal — we could not exclaim with Dryden : 

u The passage yet was good ; the wind 'tis true 
Was somewhat high 3 but that was nothing new, 
No more than usual equinoxes blew." 

There was naught new nor usual about it, wind and weather were a 
mass of inconsistency 5 a few more revolutions of the sun, and we 
should have found ourselves stranded in the Dahomey territory, 
or other equally delightful regions, bordering on the Bight of 
Benin, in Africa ; even the good old captain of marines began to 
look worried and anxious, paid nightly visits to the sailing mas- 
ter, and with the most earnest and imploring tone, would ask — 
u Well, Master ! how does she head ?" as if he reposed full trust 
in his sagacity, and for God's sake to ease his mind, and let him 
hear the worst at once. Surgeons, pursers and secretaries, went 
off their feed, and from being rather over sanguine at times, burst 
forth with lamentable wailings in the poignancy of their despair 
The captain of the ship, too, reviled creation generally, and was 
rather snappish with officers of the watches ; hinting that the 
yards were not trimmed, ship steered properly, and other legal 
animadversions. Then the lieutenants, kind souls, abused the 
master, taxing him with manifold crimes and delinquencies for 



6 ' CHAPTER I. 



bringing adverse breezes, did those sagacious creatures, and at 
other times becoming jocose, would advise him to kick the chro- 
nometers several times around the mast to accelerate or diminish 
their rates, and talked loudly of requesting the Commodore to fol- 
low the first bark we might encounter, to the end that we should 
get safely into port — in fact, we were all, morally speaking, in a 
state of gangrene ; morbid, morose and our circumstances get- 
ting more desperate hourly ; but the longest night, except in the 
winter season off Cape Horn, has its dawning : the wind veered 
fair, whitening the ruffled water to windward, the noble frigate 
recovered her long lost energy, and with white sails swelling from 
trucks to the sea, shook the sparkling brine from her mane, and 
left a foaming wake behind ; the thick, mucky, sticky atmosphere 
that clung to us upon entering the tropic, was quickly displaced, 
by refreshing and grateful breezes. 

We crossed the dividing line of the sphere, rushing and splash- 
ing down the slope on the other side, carrying the whole ocean 
before us : myriads of flying fish flashed their silver-tinted wings 
as they broke cover, and flew upward at our approach. Por- 
poises and dolphins would dash around the bows, try our speed, 
and then disappear, perhaps, with a contused eye, or bruised snout 
from a sparring match with the cutwater ; on we bounded with 
the cracking trade wind, tugging the straining canvas towards 
Brazil. 

The mess was large, and composed of strange materials — men 
of gravity and men of merriment, some who relate professional 
anecdotes and talk knowingly of ships, and sails and blocks, and 
nautical trash generally, others, would be literary characters, who 
pour over encyclopedias, gazetteers and dictionaries, ever ready 
to pounce upon an indiscreet person, and bring him to book in old 



WE BECOME RECONCILED. 



dates or events ; then there is the mess grumbler, the mess ora- 
tor, a lawgiver and politician, and always an individual, without 
whom no mess is properly organized, who volunteers to lick the 
American consul in whatsoever haven the ship may be, for any fan- 
cied grievance, but particularly if he happen to be poor, and not dis- 
posed to give a series of grand dinners upon his meagre fare of office. 

All these individual peculiarities we had sufficient leisure to in- 
dulge in 3 and although I have asserted that ship-board is the most 
horrible monotony in life, and hold to mine oath, yet Apollo 
tuned his lyre, and old Homer took siesta, thus by example, if 
anything can relieve this dulness, it is in the very contrast, where 
the mercury of one's blood is driven high up by cheering pros- 
pects of favoring gales, and anticipations of a speedy arrival, after 
a tedious passage. 

Our amiability returned with our appetites — alas ! too keenly 
for the doomed carcass of a solitary pig, grunting in blissful ignor- 
ance of his fate, in a spacious pen on the gun deck. Juicy and 
succulent vegetables had long since vacated the mess table, and 
the talents of our cordon-Mew, Messieurs Hypolite de Bontems, 
and Francois, were constantly phrenzied with excitement, com- 
posing palatable dishes, from the privacy of tins of potted meats, 
and hidden delicacies of the store rooms. We all became socia- 
ble, quizzed one another good humoredly — some declared they 
had been dreadfully spooney with some fair girls before leav- 
ing home, but were better now, and thought the marine air 
wholesome for those complaints. Others, again, still remained 
faithful, compared their watches with the chronometers, to deter- 
mine the exact difference of time on certain periods designated 
beforehand, with may be a choice collection of stars of the first 
magnitude, to gaze at by night. Nevertheless, there was a radi 



8 CHAPTER I. 

cal change for the better ; we became more companionable, hob- 
nobbed across the table, after dinner, heard with calm delight 
orchestral music from the flutes and fiddles of papa Gheeks and 
family — an old gentleman from faderland^ whom the sailors, in 
their ignorance of German, had baptized " Peter the Greeks," a 
soubriquet by which he tiniversally went — and one of our mess 
had the humanity to inquire if the small French horn, or 
octave flute, had tumbled down the hatchway, and whether he 
broke his neck or was merely asphyxie. We even ceased grumb- 
ling at the servants, and to a man all agreed that the passage had 
been of unexampled pleasantness. 

Nothing checked our headlong speed, and the fiftieth day from 
Boston saw us close to the high, desolate mountains of cape 
Frio, within plain view of the little rocky nook where the Eng- 
lish frigate Thetis made a futile attempt to batter the island over, 
but went down in the struggle. 'Tis said the gun room mess 
were entertaining the captain at dinner, who somewhat oblivious 
to everything, save being homeward bound to merry England 
with a ship laden with treasure, disregarded the sailing master's 
wishes to alter the course, and the consequence was, after night 
set in, the frigate struck, going eight knots — providentially the 
crew were saved. The long Atlantic swell was rolling heavily 
against the bluff promontories, and the surf lashing far up the 
black heights, giving many of us a nervous disinclination to mak- 
ing a night expedition among the rocks, going to sleep with a 
dirty shirt and mouthful of sand, without even the consolation of 
being afterwards laid out in clean linen, to make luncheon for 
vultures ; but since it takes a complication of these diversions to 
compose a veritable sea life, we banished perspective danger, and 
indulged in speculations upon the pleasures of port. 



CHAPTER II. 

u The far ships lifting their sails of white 
Like joyful hands ; come up with scatter'd light, 
Come gleaming up, true to the wished for day, 
And chase the whistling brine, and swirl into the bay.'' 

Remini. of Leigh Hunt. 

The approach to Rio Janeiro, so far as God's fair handiwork 
is considered, presents a hold, natural, and striking grandeur, 
and is, perhaps, unsurpassed "by that of any other land on earth. 
The mountains spring abruptly from the sea, in massive, well-de- 
fined outline, assuming at different points the most fanciful and 
grotesque shapes. Those to the southward make in goodly pro- 
portion the figure of a man reclining on his back, even to feet 
and eyes, while further inland are seen the narrow tube-like 
cones of the Organ Mountains, shooting high up into the sky, 
and then lower down, and around, are strewn lesser hills, sweep- 
ing and undulating from vale to vale, in an endless succession of 
picturesque beauty. 

Passing the strait that opens into the bay, which appears nar- 
rower than it really is, from the steep sides of adjacent heights, 
the river expands, and stretching away on either shore, lie grace- 
ful curves and indentations, whose snowy beaches are fringed with 
pretty dwellings, half hidden beneath the richest tropical foliage. 
To the left stands the city, built amidst a number of elevations, 
but like Lisbon, it has neither spire nor dome to relieve the eye 
along the horizon. Yet this drawback is in a measure lost sight 



JO • CHAPTER IT. 

of in contemplating the frowning peak of La Gabia, which seems 
to hang over, and shade the town itself ; but take all in all there 
are few lovelier scenes the eye can gaze upon, than Rio. 

Just ten years had passed since I sailed from this noble bay, 
and although I had been the wide world over, in stirring scenes, 
quite sufficient as I indeed supposed to drive all recollections of it 
out of my head, into dim obscurity and forgetfulness, yet as we 
approached the harbor, every point and islet, fort, tower, reef, 
grove, and hamlet, started vividly before me, as all appeared 
when I was a boy, and the long years between dwindled away 
into minutes, and I fancied it but yesterday since we had 
parted. 

I greeted Lord Hood's nose like an old acquaintance, as it 
reposed in gigantic outline, towering above the surrounding 
mountains ; the small island near the shore with the white tower 
that was then just begun ; the Sugar Loaf with its smooth sur- 
face of rocks, and on the other side the Slaver's Bay — palmettos 
swinging their finger-like branches to and fro ; and beyond, the 
fortress of Santa Cruz, with the sickly yellow diamond of Brazil, 
waving above ; indeed, when the long speaking trumpet was 
shoved through an embrasure, I knew the old soldier's melan- 
choly howl by intuition. At last the harbor's mouth was passed, 
we rolled up our sails and sank peacefully to rest on the quiet 
bosom of the bay. 

A mob of us tumbled into the boats ; the ashen sails, plied by 
sinewy arms, soon bumped us against what was once to me the 
Palace Stairs, but either the water had receded, or land en- 
croached upon the bay, for where the waves once washed the sea 
wall, and where many a time I have sat- kicking my heels in the 
surf, sucking oranges the while, is now forty feet from the beach, 



TIME'S CHANGES. H 

and the wall itself stands in the silliest manner imaginable, quite 
in the middle of the square. To the left is a tall modern range 
of warehouses and the hotel Pharou. Swarms of cigar-smoking 
bipeds were lounging edgeways from the cafes and billiard rooms. 
I recognized many old familiar faces of the boatmen, and among 
other rare birds, the overgrown eunich organist, who used to be 
the wonder of my boyhood — there he stood as of yore, exercising 
his curiosity in scrutinizing the new comers. 

The tenth of a century makes vast strides towards changing the 
appearance of things in these electrical times, and although I dis- 
covered no difference in beauties of dale, hill or mountain, for the 
Organos still shot their needle-like peaks as high up into heaven, 
the weather was quite as calm and hot in the mornings, and as 
breezy in the afternoons, the same bells were heard ringing the most 
confused of chimes, squares were as crowded, streets no wider, and 
negroes as numerous and spicy as ever ; jet what I mean is, the 
animus of the town itself had been transmogrified. The beautiful 
bay was traversed by hateful little beetles of steamers, drawing 
long lines of sooty black smoke through the pure air, instead of 
multitudes of picturesque lateen craft, with the musical chants 
and cadences of the negro oarsmen, skimming and singing over 
the water. Then, too, streets were filled with omnibii, cabs, gigs, 
gondolas, and all other conceivable inventions for locomotion, 
serving to make one uncomfortable from the very strivings to 
avoid it : I forgive the entire African races for whistling the latest 
polkas, or rather sistling through their closed teeth, for holding 
to the ancient custom of affectionately interlacing little fingers, as 
they come dancing, chattering and jabbering along the streets. 
Fleas, too, were as lively and vigorous as ever, and I thought I 
recognised one centenarian, who hopped on me with an ardor truly 



12 - CHAPTER II. 



delightful, upon stepping on shore at the palace stairs. The 
shopping Rua Ouvidor was still the same incongruous assortment 
of French and German shops, with here and there an unobtrusive 
counter, behind which some Levite displayed ebony trays of twink- 
ling brilliants, enough to make the mouth water, eyes wink, and 
pocket bleed, should a purchase be thought of. Black nurses 
still held their juvenile charges out from the lattice-work doors 
and windows, with little bare legs dangling outside, to favor any 
chance pedestrian with an eleemosynary kick, should he come 
within reach. Then the same interminable lines of slaves, each a 
bag of coffee on his head, preceded by a leading chorister, with 
small rattle, by way of accompaniment to the harsh chorus, as 
they pass swiftly on with a sharp jerking trot to the shipping or 
warehouses of the port. All this was still the same to me, but in 
general it was not my Rio, not the spot where my first and boyish 
impressions were formed, of the voluptuous, luxurious life under 
tropical suns. The march of invention is rapidly reducing every- 
thing to a standard of its own, and I could only sigh over the in- 
novations constituting refinement in civilization, where it seems so 
little needed. 

A very great improvement, in all praise be it said, had taken 
place in the order and cleanliness of the city — we were not ac- 
costed once by mendicants, when formerly they were as thick as 
lazzaroni in Naples. The police was large, remarkably well or- 
ganized, and the riots and assassinations of former days were un- 
heard of. The cafes and hotels have kept pace with the times, 
where one may satisfy his gourmanderie with a certain show of 
epicurianism, provided his palate be not too delicate for many 
]dnds of fishes and vegetables, with mayhap, at rare intervals, a 



YANKEE NOTIONS. 13 

taste of monkey or paroquet. Yankee ice is very generally used, 
and a philanthropic person had hung out a banner with " Mint 
Juleps" inscribed thereon, but the thirst for these cold institu- 
tions is not so much felt as in some parts of the United States ; 
for here the weather, though hot and enervating, has not the op- 
pressiveness and lassitude of our summers, and besides, fluids are 
made sufficiently cool and cooling, through the medium of un- 
glazed water jars, swung gently in the breeze. 

We saw one deformed African attached to a small tray and 
sign, on which was legibly painted " ginger-beer," evidently 
meaning ginger pop. We execrated that monster on the spot, 
and said to ourselves, what is the necessity for leaving home, if 
we are to be stared out of countenance by our household gods, at 
the antipodes. 

Another trifling peculiarity attracted our attention. I allude to 
the trumpet-shaped water pipes, sticking boldly out from below 
every balconied window, of all colors and sizes, reminding us of mis- 
shapen angels, with puffed out cheeks, and trombones, invariably 
found in the upper angles of miraculous, or scriptural paintings : 
fortunately there was no rain, or we might have been gratified 
with a douche that the great Preussnitz himself would have been 
proud of. 

By no art or teaching can His Imperial Majesty, with " all the 
Senate at his heels," be induced to give a respectable currency 
to the country. The stamped paper of the empire in rais 
fluctuates like quicksilver at the mart, and it is next to impossi- 
ble to form any reasonable conjecture what change may take place 
from day to day. In lieu of this, copper coins, nearly the diame 
ter of ship biscuits, valued from twenty to forty rais, and com 



X4 . CHAPTER II. 



monly called " dumps," are used in every day traffic, but should 
a person require more than one dollar at a time, it were advisable 
to employ a negro and basket to transport them. 

Among the devices before touched upon, in the way of ambu- 
lation, was one which amused us excessively. Nothing less than 
a four -mule omnibus, driven by the most remarkable Jehu ever 
beheld — evidently one who had seen, or at least heard of, the 
natty style things were conducted at Charing Cross before rails 
were laid. I had the honor to be propelled by this individual a 
number of times, and it was well worth a " dump" to see him 
pull on a very dirty buskin glove, the manner he handled the 
rope reins, give his glazed hat a rap, and button up a huge box 
coat, with the sun pouring down a stream of noonday fire ; then 
an encouraging yell to the leaders, swinging himself from side to 
side, away he rattled to the astonishment of every wonder-loving 
person in the neighborhood. The mules acted up to their natural 
propensities ; at times dashing along the sidewalks, and against 
houses ; again coming to a dead halt, and favoring each other with 
a few slapping salutes with their heels ; then off they clattered 
once more, until about to double a sharp corner, when if they did 
not bolt into the pulperia opposite, like a Habanese volante, the 
conductor, with the most imperturbable dignity, would crack his 
leathern whip, shout like a devil, and do his possible to run over 
a covey of miserable lame blackies, who would start up in great be- 
wilderment, like boys catching trapball, without knowing precisely 
in which direction would be safest to dodge the eccentric vehicle. 
I always cheered my friend with reiterated marks of approbation, 
as I look with leniency upon the peculiarities of mankind, and 
ever make a rule to respect the absurdities of others. The Jehu 



THE JEHU DRIVER. 15 

whose accomplishments I have so faintly portrayed, can be re- 
garded at any hour of the day, on the road to Boto Fogo, and he 
will be found quite as interesting an object of curiosity as the 
Falls of Tejuco, to say nothing of the fatigue and expense of the 
journey 



CHAPTER III. 

Much of niy time was passed with friends on the shores of the 
bay, a short distance beyond Gloria Hill, and I was in a certain 
degree relieved from the banging and roaring of cannon fired in 
compliment to distinguished personages, who appear to select Rio 
as the place of all others, where they may smell powder to their 
noses' content ; to say nothing of being immured on ship-board 
after nearly two months' passage. Escaping these disagreeables, I 
had leisure to stretch my limbs on shore, and enjoy the perfumes 
of flowers and fruit from the stems that bore them. 

It is in the direction of the beach, or, as the Portuguese have 
it, Praya Flamingo, on the road to II Cateto, and the charming 
and secluded little bay of Boto Fogo, that most of the diplo- 
matique corps, and foreign merchants reside. The houses are 
rarely more than two stories in height, a combination of Venetian 
and Italian orders of architecture, with heavy projecting cornice, 
balconies and verandas, and washed with light straw or bluish 
tints. 

The saloons are always spacious and lofty, with prettily papered 
walls, and floors of the beautiful, dark polished wood of the coun- 
try. Nearly all these residences are surrounded by extensive 
gardens, blooming in bright and brilliant foliage, only matured 
beneath the burning rays of a vertical sun. There are no springs 
in Rio, and the grounds are irrigated by miniature aqueducts, led 



VISIT FROM A SCORPION. 17 

from mountains in the rear ; sufficiently large, however, to float 
in their narrow channels, serpents and many other noxious reptiles, 
enough to make one's hair stand erect. It is by no means an un- 
common occurrence to find the giracca, a venomous snake, insinu- 
ating themselves within the sunny marble pavements of steps and 
porticoes^ and I was assured by a resident, that one monster after 
having some four feet cut off from his tail, ran away with head 
and remaining half with a most cricket-like and surprising degree of 
celerity. Indeed I was myself a witness to the intrusion of an in- 
dividual of the scorpion breed, who walked uninvited into the 
saloon, and was on the point of stepping up a young lady's ancle, 
when, detecting his intention, with the assistance of a servant, he 
was enticed into a bottle that he might sting himself or the glass 
at pleasure. Being somewhat unaccustomed to these little pre- 
datory incursions, I was particularly cautious during the remain- 
der of my stay, to examine every article, from a tooth -pick to the 
couch, before touching the same. Another approximation to the 
same genus is the white ant, possessing rather a literary turn, and 
I was told, that it is not unusual for a million or two to devour a 
gentleman's library — covers and all, in a single night. I have 
never yet been able to conquer disgust for even docile, harmless, 
speckled-back lizards, and indeed all the hosts of slimy, crawl- 
ing reptiles I heartily fear and abhor. 

We found the town in a furor of enthusiasm in admiration of 
the song and beauty of a French operatique corps. I went thrice 
and was well repaid for the dollars, in sweet music of Auber and 
Donizetti — there were two primas — for serious and comique — 
both, too, primas in prettiness. The Academy of Paris Music 
had never, perhaps, seen or heard of Mesdames Duval and her 
partner, but La Sala San Januario had been captivated with 



18 . CHAPTER III. 



both, and beauty covers multitudes of faults, particularly with 
men, for what care we, if the notes touch the soul, whether a 
crystal shade higher or lower than Grisi, or Persiani, so long as 
they flow from rosy lips, that might defy those last-named donnas 
to rival, even with the brightest carmine of their toilets. 

The theatre itself is a very respectable little place, having 
three tiers and parquette. The royal box faces the stage, hung 
with damask. The whole interior of the building was quite 
Italian — every box railed off with gilded fret work, and lighted 
with candles swinging in glass shades. The Brazilians are fond 
of music, and all the world attended each representation, includ- 
ing the Emperor, Empress and Court. As I had, in times past, 
seen a good deal of Don Pedro, when he was a studious, medita- 
tive boy, at the Palace of Boto Fogo, I was somewhat curious to 
observe the effect of old time's cutting scythe on the Lord's 
anointed, as well as on the rest of us clay-built mortals. His face 
and shape of the head had changed very little, but he had grown 
immensely ; tall, awkward, and verging on corpulency even now, 
though I believe he is only twenty-eight years of age. His 
Italian wife appeared much older. Both were well and plainly 
dressed, attended by some half a dozen dames and dons of the 
court. 

The curtain rose as the imperial party took their seats, and 
there were neither vivas, nor groaning manifestations to express 
pleasure or disgust, from the audience. All passed quietly and 
orderly, like sensible persons, who came to hear sweet sounds, 
and not to be overawed by great people. I made the tour of the 
donas through a capital lorgnette, and although like Mickey 
Free, fond of tobacco and ladies, I must pledge my solemn 
assurances, that with the exception of something pretty, at- 



BRAZILIAN DAMSELS. 19 



tached to the French company, there was not a loveable woman 
to be seen. I doubt not but there are rare jewels to be found in 
out of the way spots, secluded from public gaze, but it was 
terra incognita to me, and we saw none other than the light mo- 
lasses-hued damsels, who are fully matured at thirteen, and 
decidedly passee at three and twenty. In the present age it is a 
questionable inference if saponaceous compounds might not be ju- 
diciously used in removing some few stains that nature is entirely 
innocent of painting ; albeit, a lovely Anglo-Saxon of my ac- 
quaintance was vastly horrified at thoughts of a friend espous- 
ing one of these cream-colored beauties, valued at a conto of rais, 
and shiploads of coffee ; and assured the deluded swain, with 
tears in her eyes, that it would require more than half his fortune 
to keep his wife in soap — supposing she should acquire the weak- 
ness or ambition to become enamored of fresh water. 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Uptorn reluctant from its oozy cave, 
The ponderous anchor rises o'er the wave." 

Falconer. 

On the twenty-ninth of October, the anchors were loosened 
from their muddy teds ; a light land wind fanned us out of the 
harbor, and with a white silver moon, we began our dreary march 
towards Cape Horn. 

The following night the ship was dashing over the seas eleven 
miles the hour. The bell had just struck eight, watch set, and the 
topmen came dancing gaily down the rigging, here and there one, 
with a pea jacket snugly tied up and held by the teeth, prepara- 
tory to a four hours' snooze in the hammocks, when a moment 
after the cry, " Look out, Bill ! — Overboard ! — Man overboard !" 
was cried from the main rigging, and amid the bustle that ensued, 
the voice of the' poor drowning wretch was heard in broken ex- 
clamations of agony, as the frigate swept swiftly by. Down 
went the helm, and sails were taken in as she came up to the 
wind, but by the strangest fatality, both life buoys were with 
difficulty cast adrift, and even then the blue lights did not ignite. 
A boat was soon lowered, and sent in the vessel's wake. An 
hour passed in the search, without hearing or seeing ought but 
the rude winds and breaking waves ; and this is the last ever 
known of poor Bill de Conick. 

He struck the channels from a fall of twenty feet up the rig- 



WE LOSE A SHIP-MATE. 21 



ging, and was probably either encumbered by heavy clothing, or 
too much injured to be able to reach the buoys. 

Friday, too, the day of all others in our superstitious ca- 
lendar for those " who go down to the sea in ships :" even amid 
a large crew, where many, if not all, are utterly reckless of life, 
an incident of this nature sheds a momentary gloom around, and 
serves to make many reflect, that the same unlucky accident 
might have wrapped any other in the same chilling shroud. 
There are few more painful sights in the world than to behold the 
imploring looks, with outstretched hands, of a fellow being, 

— " "When peril has numbed the sense and will, 

Though the hand and the foot may struggle still — " 

silently invoking help, when all human aid is unavailing — before 
the angry waves press him below the surface, to a sailor's grave. 
Aye, there can be no more dreadful scenes to make the strong 
man shudder than these. Yet it seems a wise ordination in our 
natures, that the sharp remembrance of these painful incidents is 
so rapidly dispelled. This very characteristic of the sailor, his 
heedless indifference to the future, in a great degree makes up his 
measure of contentment in all the toils and dangers that beset his 
course, unconscious that time, 

"Like muffled drums,, are beating funeral marches to the grave." 

A fortnight flew quickly by, the good ship going at as lively 
a pace. We passed the wide mouth of La Plata, buttoned 
our jackets, and slept under blankets. As the weather became 
colder, mammy Carey and her broods, with goneys, albatrosses, 
boobies and cape pigeons, swarmed around the wake, to pick up 
the stray crumbs. Divers hooks and lines were thrown out to en • 
tice them aboard, but for a long interval all efforts proved fruit- 



22 CHAPTER IV. 



less, until one morning, an albatross abstractedly swallowed the 
bait, and much to his surprise was pulled on board, like to a boy's 
kite. He measured eleven feet four inches, with enormous quills 
and feathers, and such a bed of down the monster had concealed 
about his oily person, was never known nearer than an eider 
duck. He had large, fierce, black eyes, too, with a beak sharp, 
and hard enough to have nipped a silver dollar into bits. Whales 
favored us occasionally with an inspection — rolled their round 
snouts out of water — tossed a few tons of foam in the air — threw 
up their enormous flukes — struck the waves one splashing blow, 
and then went down to examine the soundings. Thus we sailed 
along the dull shores of Patagonia, with the long taper top gal- 
lant masts replaced by stumps to stand up more obstinately 
against the furious tempests of the " still vexed Bermoothes" of 
Cape Horn, the bugbear of all landsmen, and the place of all 
others, where more yarns are spun, wove, and wondered at, than 
from China to Peru. He was a bold sailor any way, who first 
doubled the Cape, whatever others may be who follow. At last 
came our turn, and on the afternoon of the sixteenth day 
from Rio, the clouds lifting, we saw the dark, jagged, rugged 
bluffs and steeps of Staten and Terra del Fuego. The next 
morning we rounded Cape St. John, and were received by the 
long swelling waves of the sister ocean. If the great Balboa 
when standing on the mountains of Panama, regarding the placid 
waves of the equatorial ocean, could have known the tempestuous 
gales and giant seas of the polar regions, sporting around this 
snowy cape, he might possibly have been less overjoyed at his 
grand discovery. Our pleasant weather and smooth seas clung 
to us, to the last, and, as if loth to leave, gave one unclouded 
view of Staten Land, like a casting in bronze, with the bleak, 



CAPE HORN. 23 



snow-capped heights, tinged by the rising sun. An hour after 
the bright sky was veiled by mist, the rising gale, from the west, 
brought hail and chilling rain. We lost sight of land, reefed the 
sails close down, and then bid defiance to the storm. Nothing 
venture nothing gain, is as true with ships' rigging, as thimble 
rigging, and we staked all our hopes on a rapid passage. Sorry 
work we made of it. The very birds were obliged to trim their 
pinions with great nicety in beating to windward — even then a 
terrible gust ruffled their plumes, and away they were driven t 
eddying, and screaming, to leeward. Still we strove the tempests 
to disarm, by stout hearts, and tough canvas, with partial suc- 
cess, too, for even with adverse winds, we managed to get to the 
southward, besides making something in the voyage ; blessed, also, 
by a cool, bracing atmosphere, and day and twilight the whole 
twenty-four hours. Though the sun in tracking his bright career 
in either hemisphere is supposed to tinge the land and sea be 
neath his blaze, with what is generally called summer, yet an ex- 
ception to the rule exists in vicinity of Cape Horn. The days, 
it is true, are longer ; in fact the night is day, but the sun diffuses 
no pleasant, genial warmth, and is only seen peering out from be- 
hind the clouds, with a careworn, desolate, blurred face, as if he 
was ashamed of his company, and had marched entirely out of 
his beat. 

In all this time hardly an incident occurred to make us even 
wink, except, perhaps, the tumble of a topman from aloft, who 
was picked up with a fractured spine ; and a little sauciness, re- 
proved by our stout armorer, through the intervention of an iron 
rod upon the limbs of a tall negro, thereby breaking his arm in 
two places. One's bones are brittle in frosty weather, and youDg 
Vulcan was made to submit to severe personal damages. I must 



24 CHAPTER IV. 



chronicle also the sudden demise of a venerable sergeant of ma- 
rines, who departed this life one cold night, while relieving the 
guard under the forecastle — the next day he was consigned to the 
mighty deep, divested of all his worldly accoutrements, save a 
hammock and a couple of round shot, to pull him into eternity. 
We had not exchanged nautical salutations since leaving port, 
and well nigh believed the ocean was deserted ; however, one day 
there came looming through the mist and rain, a large ship, with 
all her flaunting muslin spread, running before the gale — the dis- 
tance was too great to make out her colors, but sufficiently near 
to cause some of us to wonder when our bark's prow would be 
turned in the same direction, and the sheets eased off for home. 
Speaking of ships, while at Rio an American vessel of war ar- 
rived, and our sympathies were universally enlisted on learning 
that she had been two long months trying to reach Valparaiso, 
but when off the Horn, or in fact after having passed it, she ex- 
perienced tremendous hurricanes and giant waves, which blew the 
sails to ribbons, tore away the boats, shattered the stern frame, 
and left her altogether in a most distressing and heart-rending 
condition, consequently she put back. It was worthy of remark, 
however, that she came buoyantly into the harbor, tricked out in 
a bran new suit of clothes, and when a number of officers went on 
board to survey her pitiable plight, they could find neither leak 
nor strain, and very sensibly concluded she was one of the 
staunchest and best corvettes in the navy, as indeed she was. 
John Bull took back his mails and declared he would never take 
advantage again of a crack Yankee sloop-of-war to forward im- 
portant dispatches by. 

Our pleasures were now limited, no one raised his nose above 
the taffrail if not compelled ; our chief resource was reading, and 



WHAT WE DID FOR PASTIME. 23 



after absorbing heaps of ephemeral trash drifting about the decks, 
we sought the library and poured over ponderous tomes of phys- 
ics, history or travels. Books find their true value a shipboard — 
cut off from all amusement of the land, we derive the full benefit 
by reading, for more than reading's sake, or for the purpose of 
killing time in silly abstraction, and many a stupid author is tho- 
roughly digested, and many labored narrations of voyages are 
carefully studied, whose narrators have " compiled very dull books 
from very interesting materials," and they should be grateful to 
governments for purchasing, and thankful for indifferent persons 
to peruse them. 

On the advent of Saturday nights, when the wind was blowing 
cold and dreary, we sought the lowest depths of the frigate. 
Facilis decensus averni, in other words, " 'tis easy to dive into 
the cock-pit' — there in a cozy state-room, we made a jovial little 
party, conducted on strictly private principles, for the purpose of 
seeking medical advice. We consulted a pot-bellied gentleman, 
with a small copper kettle on his head, illumined by a spirit lamp, 
whilom, termed Doctor Faustus — unlike the Sangrado practition- 
ers, the Doctor constantly poured out instead of in.. One humor- 
some fellow, the President of our club, who was rather stout on 
his pins, and caree far la base, poured forth wit and hot 
water by the hour, diversifying both occasionally, by ravishing 
strains on the violin, and chanting Virginia melodies, which acted 
on the heels of one of our attendants, in a complicated series of 
jigs, called the double shuffle. 

At last the fates befriended us ; a new moon appeared, and the 

west wind having apparently blown itself out of breath, a breeze 

sprang up from south-east and commenced blowing the sea and 

ourselves in an opposite direction ; snow fell thick and fast, driv- 
2 



26 CHAPTER IV. 



ing the thermometer below freezing point, and barometer running 
rapidly up. As the flakes fell and adhered to rigging and sails, 
the entire mass of ropes, spars and hampers were soon clothed in 
icy white jackets. The sun broke out for a moment and con- 
verted a showering cloud of snow into a magnificent bow. Rain- 
bows of sun and moon are beheld by the million, but seldom a 
novelty like a snow-how ! The ship was hurried along at great 
speed on the sixtieth parallel, until reaching the meridian of eighty, 
when we bore away to the northward. Congratulating ourselves 
with the hope that the clerk of the weather had forgotten to an- 
nounce our arrival to the court of winds in the great South Pacific ; 
faint delusion ! — off the gusty isle of Chiloe, we had a hug from 
a gale, which, however, exhausted itself in a few hours, and then 
left us to flounder about on the mountainous backs of waves as 
best we might — then there was an interval of rain and squalls from 
all quarters, when the breeze again came fair, and on the second of 
December, we anchored at Valparaiso, just five weeks from Ric 
Janeiro. 



CHAPTER V. 

There can be no greater satisfaction to a wind-buffetted rover, 
than sailing into a new place, and the consolation of knowing 
there are still others behind the curtain. It was thus we felt, 
and after rounding the Point of Angels, and casting anchor in the 
Bay of Paradise, fancied ourselves quite in altissimo spirits, if not 
precisely in cielo. 

On approaching the Chilian coast, the eye of course seeks the 
white-robed Cordilleras, and well worthy the sight they are — 
forty leagues inland, cutting the sky in sharp, clear outlines, with 
peaks of frosted silver, until the attention is fairly arrested by the 
stupendous peak of the Bell of Quillota, and Tupongati, the co- 
lossus of all, tumbling as it were, from the very zenith — then 
nearer, diminuendoing down to the ocean, are generations of 
lesser heights, each, however, a giant in itself, until their bases 
are laved by the Pacific. It is a grand coup oVodl at rise or set 
of sun ; but there is a sameness about masses of reddish rocks, 
ravines and mountains of the foreground, and one is apt to doubt 
the immense height of those beyond, from the gradual rise 
around. Moreover, there is nothing striking or diversified, as 
with their tall brothers in Switzerland or Asia ; snowy tops with- 
out glaciers ; frightful chasms, and sweeping valleys, without tor- 



28 ' CHAPTER V. 



rents or verdure ; all this is nature's design, but the decorations 
have been forgotten, and bare walls of mount and deep is all that 
appears finished. 

Little can be said commendatory of Valparaiso ; and truly I 
think the most rabid of limners would meet with difficulty in get- 
ting an outside view from any point ; for, owing to formation of 
the land, furrowed into scores of ravines by the rush and wash of 
creation, with the town running oddly enough along the ridges, 
or down in the gullies, it becomes a matter of optical skill, for a 
single pair of eyes to compass more than a small portion at a 
glance. 

The houses are mean ; streets narrow and nasty ; the former 
are built of adobies — unbaked bricks of great thickness — or lathed, 
plastered and stuccoed ; the latter paved with small pebbles no 
bigger than pigeons' eggs, and only those running with the shores 
of the bay, are at all walkable. A little way back in thequebra- 
das, or broken ground, is like stepping over angular Flemish 
roofs, and with a long leg and short one, to preserve an equipoise, 
you may walk along these inclined planes without any serious 
personal danger, save what consists in liquids thrown on your 
head, and the torture endured, by your corns. 

There is not a single public edifice in Valparaiso worthy of 
even passing admiration. The custom house is most conspicu- 
ous, facing the port ; the theatre fronts one of two small squares, 
and but a few meanly built churches are to be found, packed 
away, out of sight, under the steep hills back of the city. Im- 
provements, however were planned, and rapidly progressing. 
The port for many years had been steadily rising in wealth and 
population, under the sure incentives of a large foreign trade, 
and the enterprise of foreign residents ; and all that appears ne- 



BUSY SCENES. 29 



cessary to make the city much in advance of other commercial 
rivals in the Pacific, is that Dame Nature should play excavating 
Betty on the next earthquake, and remove a few of the obtru- 
sive hills that encroach so abruptly upon the bay. 

There is an unusual bustle pervading the quay and streets, for 
a Spanish Creole town. As ships cannot approach the unpro- 
tected shores to discharge their cargoes, the port is crowded with 
multitudes of lighters and whale boats, constantly passing to and 
fro, while porters, bending under packages of goods, copper, and 
produce, are moving from the dudna, or warehouses, to the mole 
and beach. Yidettes of mounted police are posted at every 
corner, and small guards of soldiers in the streets, supervising the 
exertions of gangs of convicts at work for the authorities. In 
emulation, also, of the means of locomotion in vogue at Rio, 
there has been introduced a ricketty contrivance, of the cab 
genus, called birloches, to which is attached a horse within the 
shafts, and another to caper at the side, similar to a Russian 
drosky, until a relay is required, when they are changed. They 
rattle through the town with reckless speed, urged by lash and 
spur of the driver mounted on the outside beast. The same sys- 
tem is pursued on the longest journeys, with merely the addition 
of a larger drove of animals to make up their own posts from the 
cavalcade — the only respite from labor remaining in the privi- 
lege of travelling at the same rate without the load. 

Shops are sufficiently numerous, filled with manufactured goods 
from Europe and the United States, with lots of gimcrackery 
from China. In the old plaza at night, almost every inch of 
ground is occupied by itinerant venders of wares, toys, shoes, 
combs, fried fish, fruit, and dukes; each squatted on his own 
cloth counter, with paper lanterns at the sides. The proprietors 



30 . CHAPTER V. 



of these ambulating establishments are women and children. A 
fine band discourses delightful music, on alternate evenings, and 
when one feels disposed to say pretty speeches to pretty damas, 
moving gracefully around, and enjoy what is in reality a touch of 
Spanish life, it were as well to saunter an hour on the plaza. 

Valparaiso is extremely disproportioned in breadth to its great 
length, necessarily so, from the jutting elevations that hang over 
it. Immediately back of the heart of the city are a number of 
these salient spurs, on one of which is planted the Campo Santo 
— foreign and native cemeteries — while those to the right have 
been, by trouble and means of the foreigners, cleared away into 
small esplanades, having neat and pretty cottages, surrounded by 
shrubbery — one, the flora pondia, a very beautiful, but diminu- 
tive tree, blossoms luxuriantly, with delicate, white flowers, 
shaped like inverted cones, or bells, and although shedding no 
odor during the day, yet at night it fairly renders the air oppres- 
sive with perfume. These lofty turrets command fine views of 
bay, shipping, and port, fully repaying the fatigue of getting up, 
in the absence of dust, dirt and noise. 

To the left, bordering close upon the harbor, is a long curving 
promenade, called El almendral — almond grove — for no other 
i%ason possibly than that there is not a vestige of trees or ver- 
dant leaves to be seen. Away at the southward, in the opposite 
extremity of the city, on what the sailors designate as the fore 
and main tops, is another succession of sharply riven ravines, filled 
and faced with clusters of one storied dwellings, from the sum- 
mits down to the narrow gorges between It requires some geo- 
graphical knowledge to explore these regions, and though the toil 
of clambering about the uneven chasms and numerous lanes, be 
not pleasant, yet one is recompensed while mounting the steep 



AN AGREEABLE ACQUAINTANCE. 31 



acclivities .by the most novel and striking views of the sea or 
city at every turn — never being able to determine where the 
next flight will lead — whether but a few yards from the spot just 
left, with a bird's eye view of the shipping, or shut up in small 
causeways between redly-tiled roofs, with the scene closed by bar- 
riers of whitewashed walls, and even after attaining another airy 
eminence, under the belief of having the broad ocean spread out 
at your feet, one is startled to find himself gazing quite in another 
direction. These tops, with the quebradas between, are portions 
of the terrace, where we spent some pleasant hours, dancing the 
samacueca, or fandangos, to the tinkling of guitars, swept by 
nimble fingers of sloe-eyed Chilians. We were always received 
courteously and sincerely, and in making ourselves particularly 
agreeable, have been occasionally treated to a sip of weak rum 
negus. 

Once, accompanied by a friend in these exploring rambles, we 
had the good fortune, through the medium of cigarillos, smiles, 
and a smattering of Castilian, to make the acquaintance of a hos- 
pitable old lady and her two pretty daughters. Carmencita was 
my favorite — lovely Carmencita ! Slie was very pretty — large, 
very large black eyes, half shut with roguery, or coquetry ; 
an adorable plump little figure, and what with a fairy touch of 
the guitar, a soft, plaintive voice, and a fondness for cigarillos, 
we thought her one of the most enchanting amourettes imagi- 
nable. Poor Carmen ! She had just lost by the fell destroyer 
her lover, who was a superintendent of mines in San Felipe, but 
who had the generosity during his last moments, to leave his ten- 
der sweetheart a handsome legacy, a letter to the French consul, 
and his blessing. Pretty Carmen ! She preserved each and 
all of these interesting relics, with great care, and although 



32 CHAPTER V. 



H Souvent femnie varie, bien fol est qui s'y fie," she resisted all 
further assaults upon her heart — confessed that I had buen sen- 
timientos, but, nevertheless, she had resolved to live and die 
within the severest rules of platonism. 

I know not how or why, but there certainly is an irresistible 
charm, that floats like a mist around Spanish Creoles ; indeed, 
Creoles of all nations have a style of fascination peculiarly their 
own, which renders them truly bewitching, with the power of re- 
taining their spells as long, and as strong as any. Not that their 
features are more beautiful, eyes brighter, or manners even as 
refined as those in older countries, for they are not ; but still 
they have soft, languishing eyes, rich, dark hair, and pliant, 
graceful forms, combined with the greatest possible charm in wo- 
man, earnest, unaffected, and amiable dispositions. 

It is to be wondered at, too, that in remote countries, where so 
few advantages are attainable in education, knowledge of the 
world and society, that they should be so well supplied with 
pretty airs and graces. It can only be attributable to that sub- 
limated coquette Nature herself, who provides those little goods 
the gods deny. 

We had the pleasure of attending a number of tertulias, or 
evening parties given in the houses of native residents, and witness- 
ing the dances of the country. The tertwlia is easy and sociable, 
without form or ceremony. The bayles are more staid affairs, 
where ladies are seated in silent rows by themselves — men very 
hairy and grummy — taking advantage of intervals in dancing to 
lounge on the piazzas, swallow a few mouthfuls of cigar smoke, 
(not a bad institution this in warm weather,) and exclaim, dios 
que color ! (how hot.) At one of these assemblies we first saw a 
minuet called the samacueca. It was undertaken by a beautiful 



THE OPERA. 



33 



young married lady, in company with a rather corpulent old gen- 
tleman, and danced in a very sprightly, rogueish manner. The 
prelude and music is similar to that of fandangos, but the move- 
ments and motif are far more indelicate, and it is by no means a 
matter of difficulty to divine the meaning. Although these inno- 
cent ballets would no doubt shockingly jar the nerves of a more 
refined audience, and many a performer might be considered " too 
fine a dancer for a virtuous woman," yet I am convinced that 
among these unaffected Creoles, naught is seen in the least degree 
improper, but they are regarded from infancy as the harmless 
customs and amusements of their country. As an individual I 
am fond of a notion of cayenne to existence, and only clapped 
hands, or cried, bravo, ! buena ! bonita ! 

The opera was in full blast — the house large and convenient, 
with very pretty scenic displays, and quite a brilliant constella- 
tion of Italian stars to illumine the proscenium, but on no repre- 
sentation did there appear evidence in the boxes that the mana- 
ger's purse was filled. We had the honor of being presented to 
the primo basso, Signor Marti, who conversed pleasantly with a 
melodramatic voice from apparently very low down in his boots. 
We listened to his sweet seguadillas with rapture. 

We found the climate truly delightful. It was the summer of 
the southern ocean — pure, pleasant breezes with the sun, and 
clear, calm, sparkling nights by moon or stars. Little or no 
rain falls, except in the winter months, and as a consequence 
where the soil is fine and dry, dust covers everything in impalpa- 
ble clouds, at the same time affording a desirable atmosphere for 
that lively individual, the flea ! 

On the coast of Syria the Arabs hold to the proverb that the 

Sultan of fleas holds his court in Jaffa, and the Grand Vizier 
2* 



34 CHAPTER V. 



in Cairo ; but so far as our experience went in Valparaiso, we 
could safely give the lie to the adage. As an unobtrusive person 
myself, I have a constitutional antipathy to the entire race, and 
invariably use every precaution to avoid their society — all to no 
purpose. They found me in crowds or solitudes — alighted on me 
in swarms, like the locusts of Egypt, destroying enjoyment on 
shore, and I fully resolved never to venture abroad again, of 
mine own free will, until some enterprising Yankee shall invent a 
traj) for their annihilation. 

I remember one mild afternoon sauntering on the almendral, 
when my attention was drawn to a lithe, young damsel on the 
sidewalk, who, whilst tripping along with a dainty gait, suddenly 
gave her foot a backward twist, with a dexterous pinch at the 
pretty ancle, and again went on like a bird. She had captured 
a flea ! but it was a style of piedermain worthy of the great 
Adrien ; a feat I was prepared to believe nearly equal to mounted 
Cossacks picking up pins from the ground with their teeth, at full 
speed — in fact, something really wonderful, and although I was 
quite confounded, and almost speechless with amazement, yet I 
followed mechanically in order to see what she could or would ac- 
complish next. Nor could I repress some audible expressions of 
encouragement ; but the fair doncella, unconscious of having per- 
formed anything remarkable, gave me a look, as much as to say, 
in the language of a touching nautical ballad — 

11 Go away young man — my company forsake." 

So not wishing to appear intrusive, I returned pensively to mine 
inn. 

Fashions in ladies' dress are similar to those in Europe or the 
United States, and even among the lower orders the bonnet \s 



AN INDOLENT RACE. 35 



worn ; but to my way of thinking, a Spanish girl's forte is in a 
black satin robe and slippers, a flowing mantilla, fine, smooth 
jetty tresses, and a waving fan to act as breakflash to sparkling 
eyes ! 

Of the men of Chili, or at least those of them whom transient 
visitors encounter in the usual lounging resorts of vaut-riens, — 
theatres, cafes, tertulias, plazas, and other purlieus, they cannot be 
said to compare with their captivating sisters — for a more indolent, 
hairy, cigar-puffing race of bipeds never existed. In dress they 
ape the faded fashions of Europe, retaining, however, the native 
cloak costume of the poncho. It is a capital garment for either 
the road or the saddle, leaving free play to the arms, and at the 
same time a protection from dust or rain. It is worn by all 
classes, and composed of the gaudiest colors, occasionally re- 
sembling a remarkably bright pattern of a drawing room carpet, 
with the head of the wearer thrust through a slit in the centre. 

The President of Chili during our visit was General Bulnes, a 
soldier of distinction in the civil wars of his own state, with a 
laurel or two won in numerous bloody blows dealt upon the neigh- 
boring Peruvians. As the hero of Yungai, his Excellency was 
elevated to his present position by the bayonets of the troops, but 
latterly he evinced a keen sagacity in reducing to a small force this 
army of vagabonds, who are prone, in South American republics, 
in the absence of more agreeable occupation, to amuse themselves 
with hatching conspiracies for the purpose of slitting the throats of 
their former coadjutors. 

There was but one regiment of infantry, and a few hundred 
cavalry in Valparaiso. The militia system, as with us, had been 
partially introduced throughout the provinces. It answered every 
purpose at much less expense than regular troops, indeed excel- 



36 CHAPTER V. 



lently well, as a police, and to the credit of Senor Bulnes' sub 
alterns, good order was most strictly and promptly enforced in his 
sea-port. 

Every one subscribed to the opinion that the government was 
firnily established, which may have been attributable, in some 
measure, to the decided argument suggested by the President. 
Shooting, instead of talking, down all opposition. By these de- 
cided proceedings he has been enabled to keep turbulent spirits 
in check, and under fear of his displeasure, there had not been 
a revolution for a long time, which was, in itself, surprising. 

Chili undoubtedly possesses resources within herself to become 
one of the most prosperous and flourishing of the independent 
states of the South American continent ; and could the govern- 
ment be induced to take proper steps to invite a more general 
emigration, and make it the interest of emigrants to settle per- 
manently in the country, by their vigor and enterprize, the 
true development of the mining and agricultural wealth might be 
easily accomplished, and this communion of interests might be the 
means of seeming Chili from the doom which seems destined to 
await her sister republics. But notwithstanding the rapid strides 
of liberality throughout the world, it appears that the rulers of all 
the rich soil of America, washed by the Pacific, still maintain a 
cramped policy, actuated by religious intolerance, and an indo- 
lence unknown elsewhere. Destitute of energy themselves, the 
voracious foreigner soon fattens on then- resources, and in the 
end, having no ties to bind him to a country where the religion 
precludes his forming closer domestic relations, embarks his 
easily acquired fortune, to end his days under an enlightened 
government. 

It is indeed melancholy that such baneful influences do prevail, 



TRUE ELEMENTS OF HAPPINESS. 37 



when the whole universe is subscribing to more liberal notions, 
but as I do not purpose preaching a capucinade for or against the 
Chilians, or take any extraordinary measures to discover vice or 
follies, what might be termed the pursuit of knowledge under 
difficulties, and apprehensive lest any one should entertain ideas 
of me widely at variance to my real and confirmed opinions, I 
simply assure them, I have long since given over all philanthropic 
researches for that which does not affect my heart or digestion. I 
once lived with a Russian, who was blessed with a stomach and 
organs durable as the platina of his native mines, and he ever 
assured me, after first finishing a flask of absinthe, that hard hearts 
and good digestions were the only true elements of happiness in 
life. Becoming a convert to this doctrine, I care not for the foi- 
bles or follies of mankind, so long as people do not pick my pock- 
ets, or tread on my toes. I take more delight in seeing a child 
skip the rope, a monkey at his tricks, or a fish jump out of water, 
than all the palaces or churches on earth, and I had much rather 
chat an hour with a pert dame de comptoir^ than dine with Senor 
Bulnes — nor were my spirits affected by learning the vast amount 
of copper exported, or the quantity of tea and tobacco smuggled ; 
neither dispensations reduced the price of billiards, or induced 
laundry women to lave linen a whit the whiter ; thus the truth 
being apparent that I am an indifferent worldly person, I make 
the merit of my necessities, in striving to live the space allotted 
me in the world, and not for it. 

And now, if I be forgiven for venting this egotistic digression 
and harangue, I promise to make my mouth a mare clausum in 
future, for all personal grievances. 



CHAPTER VI. 

We were aroused one morning at peep of day by the heavy, 
booming report of a gun from the frigate, and on tearing open our 
eyelids, saw the chequered cornet flying at the fore, the signal of 
sailing. Anathematizing ships and seas, we shook fleas and dust 
from our heels, and repaired forthwith on board. Breakfast over, 
the shrill whistles of boatswain and mates called up anchor ; 
much easier said than done, that ponderous instrument being loth 
to leave his bed. And it was not until after a tremendous 
amount of cursing and heaving had been expended, that it 
deigned to be roused out at all ; even then, the ship under 
topsails, with a fresh breeze, and forty fathoms water, the strain 
was enormous — when by a sudden surge, owing to a number of 
nonsensical contrivances of iron teeth biting the breathing cable, 
they let go their gripe, and out flew the chain, making the whole 
vessel tremble from its quivering jar and whirl. When its fury 
was a little exhausted, the brawny compresses were drawn, and 
the unruly gentleman brought to a stand. Then great appre- 
hensions were felt for the seamen in the chain lockers. They 
were pulled out alive, with only a broken leg, and a multitude of 
painful contusions. How they escaped being torn into atoms, in 
a confined box, six feet square, during the frightful contortions 



ST. FELIX AND AMBROSE. 



and vibrations of the immense iron snake, was little less than a 
miracle. 

At noon we were clear of the harbor, and as the sun went 
down, he gave us a last glimpse of the Bell of Quillota, and his 
tall companion, Tupongati. The wind was fair, we murmured 
that beautiful saline sentiment, u The ship that goes, the wind 
that blows, and lass that loves a sailor." I sighed adieu to Car- 
mencita, ordered my valet of the bedchamber, Giacomo, to ar- 
range my four poster of a hammock, and then in dreams forgot 
the past. 

The fourth day out we passed near to a cluster of desolate, un- 
inhabited islands — St. Ambrose and Felix — the first about two 
miles in length, and rising abruptly from the ocean, to the height 
of fifteen hundred feet. Numbers of queer-shaped, pointed, rocky 
islets, white with guano, were grouped along the base of the island, 
and through one was cut, by some action of the water, a well-de- 
fined arch, open to the sea, like a telescope. 

Pursuing an undeviating track, with glorious seas, skies and 
winds, on the last day of the year we crossed the equator, in a 
longitude of 110°. During this period there were two deaths; 
one a good old man from Deutschland, named Jerry Wilson. On 
being asked an hour before he expired, how he felt — " First 
rate," said Jerry, and no doubt he is now, if not then. The 
other was a youth named Tilden, caused by a spasmodic affection 
of the throat, so as to prevent swallowing food, until he abso- 
lutely starved to death. He made his last plunge as the sun 
went down. The stately frigate, careless of all, went flying with 
wide-stretched pinions, towards her destination, at a speed of 
Jack the Giant-killer's boots. On the 20th of January, land 
ho ! Alta California ! For forty-eight hours, we sailed lightly 



40 ' CHAPTER VI. 



along the base of a compact ridge of mountains that rose like 
a sea wall, seamed into ten thousand furrows, the summits fringed 
with lofty forest trees, and not a cloud visible in high heaven, 
then appeared a green, shelving point, of waving pines and ver- 
dure, terminated bj a reef of fearful, black rocks. Giving this 
a wide birth, we shortly entered a wide, sweeping indentation of 
the coast, in shape of a fish hook, with the barb at the south- 
ern end, furled our sails, and moored ship in the Bay of Monte- 
rey, forty days from Valparaiso. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Before resuming the thread of this narrative, it may be as 
well to give a brief summary of events that had transpired pre- 
viously to our arrival. 

Pending disturbances between the United States and Mexico, 
when the quarrel had not reached an open rupture, much excite- 
ment prevailed in Upper California, through the agency of a few 
foreigners, who wished to revolutionize the country. At this 
epoch, Mr. Fremont, of the U. S. Topographical Engineers, was 
in the heart of California, engaged upon scientific explorations, 
ostensibly in relation to the practicability of the best route for 
emigration to Oregon. There is reason to believe, also, that he 
was instructed to feel the geographical pulse of the natives, as 
well as the mountain passes. Be this as it may, Mr. Fremont 
was encamped near Monterey, with sixty followers, when Jose 
Castro, a Mexican officer in command of the province, issued a 
proclamation, ordering Fremont to leave the territory immedi- 
ately, and at the same time threatened to drive every foreigner 
away also. Fremont and his party, after holding Castro's bom- 
bast in contempt, and his troops at bay, at last began to march, 
quite leisurely, towards the northern route for Oregon : these oc- 
currences happened early in the spring of 1846. On the 13th of 



42 CHAPTER VII. 



June the first movement began, on the river Sacramento, near 
Sutter's Fort, and one of the tributaries to the head waters of San 
Francisco. This attack was composed of a few lawless vagabonds, 
who, carrying a banner of white, with a red border and grizzly 
bear, styled themselves the "Bear Party:" they were of all 
nations, though claiming citizenship in the United States. After 
stealing a drove of horses, belonging to the Californians, their 
numbers were increased by other marauding gentry to forty, when 
moving rapidly around the northern shores of the Bay of San 
Pablo, they surprised and captured the little garrison of Sonoma, 
under charge of General Guadalupe Vallejo. Then they com- 
mitted excesses, without the slightest recognized authority, but 
purely, it appears, from love of a little independent fighting and 
thieving on their own private accounts. Meanwhile a large naval 
force had been hovering on the Mexican coast for a year pre- 
viously, "awaiting the first blow to be dealt on the other side. 
Intelligence of the battles on the Rio Grande reached Mazatlan 
in June, and Commodore Sloat, who was there at the time, sailed 
for Monterey with the squadron, arrived in July, and on the 7th 
hoisted the American flag, and took formal and legitimate pos- 
session of the territory. The same course was pursued at San 
Francisco. A week afterwards the frigate Congress arrived, 
and Sloat, transferring his pennant to Commodore Stockton, 
returned home. The new Commander-in-Chief then sailed for 
San Pedro, three hundred miles down the coast ; where disem- 
barking a force of three hundred seamen and marines, he marched 
towards the capital of Upper California, Pueblo de los Angeles. 
a town some thirty miles inland. On the route, he found a body 
of five hundred men, under Pico, and Castro, the military 
governor of the territory. The Californians broke up their 



SKIRMISH OF SAN PASCUAL. 43 



camp and dispersed, before getting a glance of the sailors' 
bayonets. Stockton occupied Los Angeles, received the sub- 
mission of the native authorities and citizens, placed a small 
garrison, returned to San Pedro, where he re-embarked for San 
Francisco ; in the interim the settlements of the valleys of Santa 
Clara and Sonoma were occupied by American forces. 

Fremont overtaken on his way through Oregon by Lieut. Gil- 
lespie, retraced his steps to California, and learning the U. S. flag 
had been hoisted in Monterey, proceeded with a battalion of settlers 
to the lower country, where they were duly enrolled. At San 
Francisco news reached Stockton that the natives, six hundred 
strong, had risen after his departure. The Savannah sailed to aid 
the small garrison, which, however, had been obliged to capitulate, 
and Captain Mervine, with three himdred men, was beaten by a 
much smaller force. 

The Commodore sailed again in the beginning of November, 
and landed at San Diego with about 500 men. While at this 
place, General Kearny with 100 dragoons arrived from a toilsome 
march of nearly three months from Santa Fe. At the Pass of 
San Pascual, he fell in with a Californian force under Andreas 
Pico, and after a severe skirmish, beat them off, though with 
great loss to himself — eighteen of his saddles were emptied, in- 
cluding three officers, and as many more badly wounded. Form- 
ing a junction with Commodore Stockton, they left San Diego for 
San Angelos. After a toilsome march of 150 miles, through a bro- 
ken and mountainous country, on the 8th and 9th of January, 
their passage was opposed by Governor Pico and Castro, at the 
river San Gabriel and plains of La Mesa, heading a body of 500 
cavalry and four field guns ; after an obstinate resistance, the 
Californians were put to flight. Subsequently, they fell back upon 



44 CHAPTER VII. 



Colonel Fremont, who, with the volunteers, were en route to 
unite with the naval forces from San Siego. The Californian 
leaders again capitulated and signed an armistice. This was the 
position of affairs on our arrival at Monterey — a few days later 
General Kearny arrived, after his difficulties with Commodore 
Stockton and Fremont, in relation to the governorship of the 
territory. 

The news we received was by no means inspiriting, nor even 
the perspective view of matters becoming better. Among minor 
details, the wreck of the schooner Shark, at Columbia river — the 
drowning of a launch load of sailors and two officers, in San Fran- 
cisco, and a host of more trivial misfortunes. The vessels of the 
squadron were dispersed up and down the coast, necessarily scat- 
tering men and officers at different posts, for the purpose of re- 
taining and subjugating the country ; but of course rendering the 
ships generally inefficient, from the great diminution of their com- 
plements. The natives had been confounded and bewildered by 
speeches and proclamations — relays of fresh commanders-in-chief, 
who, amid their own official bickerings, never ceased forming new 
governments, organizing armies, appointing officers, civil and 
military — but what served in a great degree to urge matters to a 
crisis, was the banding together of a few mongrel bodies of volun- 

t CO o 

teers, who enhanced the pleasure of their otherwise agreeable 
society, by pillaging the natives of horses, cattle, saddles, house- 
hold utensils, and the like, in quite a maraudering, buccaneering, 
independent way ; all of course under the apparent legal sanction 
of the United States' government, and not a doubt but demanded 
by the imperative necessity of their patriotic plunderers . them- 
selves. The result was easily foretold. These miserable Califor- 
nians, who at first were not averse to subscribe to our laws, and 



HOW WE BEHAVED. 45 



to come under the flag peacefully and properly, were soon screwed 
up to such a maze of fear, uncertainty, and excitement, as to make 
all future arrangements an affair of exceeding difficulty. Besides, 
another important obstacle intervened ; they were to be convinced 
that the Americans really intended to hold permanent possession 
of their country, and not to make another revoke, as could be rea- 
sonably inferred from the invasion of a few years previous, when 
we so quickly resigned the conquest — a tergiverse proceeding, 
which they, as well as more enlightened nations, were somewhat at 
a loss to comprehend. Thus judging from experience of the past, 
they had no desire to make themselves obnoxious to their Mexi- 
can rulers, in case a like event should occur again ; and conse- 
quently, in the absence of a sufficiency of those convincing argu- 
ments done up in military jackets and trousers, with muskets by 
their sides, to overawe even a thin population over so great an 
extent of territory, the natives, even those at first most favor- 
ably disposed, seized the lance, took a decided stand, and with 
the prospect of doing more fighting than was originally con- 
tracted for. 

These were the causes principally instrumental in bringing 
about the last outbreak. But the Californians, without organiza- 
tion, arms, or competent leaders, though with all the elements to 
prolong the contest, seeing fresh arrivals of ships and troops 
appear on their coast, were induced to throw by the lance for the 
lasso, and agree to an honorable capitulation. Milder influences 
prevailed ; steps were taken to tranquilize people's minds by a 
spirit of conciliation dictated by good sense. Useless and annoy- 
ing restrictions were abolished, property of every description was 
returned or liberally paid for, prisoners discharged, paroles annul- 
led, the blue jackets, playing soldiers on shore, were ordered to 



46 CHAPTER VII. 



their respective ships, and the volunteers disbanded. All this 
tended in a great measure to reassure the natives of an amicable 
endeavor on our part to make the new yoke rest as lightly as pos- 
sible on their shoulders. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The rain came down in a steady drizzle, as we anchored in 
our new haven, but as the falling water thinned, and rolled par- 
tially along the land, we discerned an endless succession of green 
gentle slopes and valleys, with heights of just a medium be- 
tween hills and mountains, rising gradually from the shores of the 
bay, clothed and crowned with magnificent vegetation. We did 
not call to mind any land naturally so picturesque and beautiful. 
Afterwards, when our excursions had extended for many leagues 
in all directions, we were ever amazed to perceive on every side 
the loveliness of plain, hill, and valley still the same. Indeed, 
for leagues in some directions it presented the appearance of 
extensive artificial parks, decked and brilliant with a carpeting of 
rich grasses and flowers, shaded by noble clusters of wide-spread- 
ing oaks, all entirely free from undergrowth. 

The town of Monterey, if it could be dignified by the title, 
we found a mean, irregular collection of mud huts, and long, low, 
adobie dwellings, strewn promiscuously over an easy slope, down 
to the water's edge. The most conspicuous was the duana — 
Custom House — a spacious frame building near the landing, which 
unquestionably had in times past been the means of yielding im- 
mense revenues to the Mexican exchequer, but now its roomy 
store-houses were empty and silent. Neither men nor merchan 



48 CHAPTER VIII. 



dise disturbed its quiet precincts. Notwithstanding the rain, 
numbers of us resolved to dare the moisture, and I, for one, 
would wade about on land, up to my neck in water, at any time 
to get quit of a ship after forty days aquatic recreation ; but here 
there was no resisting the gratefully green appearance of the 
shores around us : we were soon stowed in a boat — the oars dip- 
ped smart and strong in the water, and we went merrily towards 
the land. Indeed I have invariably observed that men-of-war's 
men are wont to use their arms with mucn vigor, on first pulling 
on shore in a strange port ; a physical characteristic which I am 
led to attribute to a desire on their part to test the virtues of any 
liquid compounds to be met with in the abodes of hospitable 
publicans. The anchorage was barely half a mile from the shore, 
and in a few minutes we disembarked at a little pier, that only 
partially served to check the rolling swell from seaward ; but 
what's a wet foot in a fit of enthusiasm, or a heavy shower ! No- 
thing, certainly, so we scrambled up the slimy steps, and while 
:n the point of giving a yell of delight, to announce our arrival in 
California, my pedal extremities flew upwards and down I sank, 
making a full length intaglio in the yielding mud — this was my 
first impression, but after getting decently scraped by Jack's 
knives, I became less excitable, and took intense delight during 
the course of the afternoon, in beholding my companions going 
through precisely the same performances. By cautious naviga- 
tion we reached the main street, then our progress was dread- 
fully slow and laborious. The mud — a sticky, red pigment, lay 
six good inches on the dryest level, and at every step our feet 
were disengaged by a powerful jerk, and a deep, gutteral noise 
from the slippy holes ; occasionally, too, we were forced to 
climb ungainly barricades of timber, with here and there a piece 



HOW MONTEREY LOOKED. 4> 

of ordnance gazing ferociously out into the surrounding country. 
Although a casual observer might naturally have supposed that 
the mud would have offered a sufficient barrier to all the armies 
ever raised, still, as trouble had been brewing, and most of the 
garrison withdrawn for an expedition into the interior, these pre- 
cautions were quite an imposing display, which was, no doubt, all 
intended. At last, by dint of perseverance, we attained a firm 
foothold in the barracks, and then had breath and leisure to look 
around. 

Monterey, before the war, contained about five hundred 
people, but on our advent there was scarcely a native to be 
seen : all the men had gone to join their belligerent friends in the 
southern provinces, leaving their property and dwellings to be 
guarded by their wives and dogs ; even their ladies bore us no 
good will, and our salutations were returned by a surly actios, 
extorted from closed teeth and scowling faces. The dogs were 
more civil, and even when showing their fangs, were sagacious 
enough to keep beyond the chastening reach of Yankee arms. 
There were a goodly number of sentinels on the alert, prowl- 
ing about, with heavy knives in their girdles, and the locks 
of their rifles carefully sheltered from the rain ; and at night it 
became a matter of some bodily danger for an indifferent person 
to come suddenly in view of one of these vigilant gentlemen, for 
with but a tolerable ear for music he might detect the sharp 
click of a rifle, and the hoarse caution of " Look out, thar, 
stranger ;" when if the individual addressed did not speedily 
shout his name and calling, he stood the merest chance of having 
another eyelet-hole drilled through his skull. 

All this at the first rapid glance gave us no very bright anticipa- 
tions ; everything looked triste and cheerless. Upon inquiring, too 



60 CHAPTER VIII. 



we were shocked to learn there was nothing eatable to be had, nor 
what was yet more melancholy, naught drinkable nor smokable : 
everybody was so much occupied in making war, as to have 
entirely lost sight of their appetites. We began to indulge the 
faintest suspicions that somehow or other we had gotten into the 
wrong place, and that California was not so charming a spot as 
we had been led to believe ; however, there was no appeal, and 
fortunately for our health and spirits, as we were leaning listlessly 
over the piazza of the barracks, staring might and main at the 
little church in the distance, we beheld a body of horsemen 
coming slowly over the verdant plains, and soon after they drew 
bridles, and dismounted before us. The cavallada of spare 
horses were driven into the corral near by, and we were 
presented in due form to the riders. It was the most im- 
pressive little band I ever beheld ; they numbered sixty, and, 
without exception, had gaunt bony frames like steel, dressed in 
skins, with heavy beards and unshorn faces, with each man his 
solid American rifle, and huge knife by the hip. With all their 
wildness and ferocious appearance they had quite simple man- 
ners, and were perfectly frank and respectful in bearing. Their 
language and phraseology were certainly difficult for a stranger to 
comprehend, for many of them had passed the greater portion of 
their lives as trappers and hunters among the Rocky Mountains : 
but there was an air of indomitable courage hovering about them, 
with powers to endure any amount of toil or privation — men who 
wouldn't stick at scalping an Indian or a dinner of mule meat ; — 
and you felt assured in regarding them, that with a score of such 
staunch fellows at your side you would sleop soundly, even 
though the forests were alive with an an atmosphere of Camanche 
yells. They were the woodsmen of our far west, who on hearing 



THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN MEN. 51 



of the disturbances in California enrolled themselves for service 
in the Volunteer Battalion — more byway of recreation, I imagine, 
than for glory or patriotism. In truth, the natives had good 
reason to regard them with terror. 

We soon became quite sociable, and after a hearty supper of 
fried beef and biscuit, by some miraculous dispensation a five- 
gallon keg of whiskey was uncorked, and, after a thirty days' 
thirst, our new-found friends slaked away unremittingly. Many 
were the marvellous adventures narrated of huntings, fia-htings, 
freezings, snowings, and starvations ; and one stalwart bronzed 
trapper beside me, finding an attentive listener, began, — u The last 
time* Captin, I cleared the Oregon trail, the Ingens fowt us amazin' 
hard. Pete," said he, addressing a friend smoking a clay pipe 
by the fire, with a half pint of corn-juice in his hand, which 
served to moisten his own clay at intervals between every 
puff, — " Pete, do you notice how I dropped the red skin who jpit 
the poisoned arrer in my moccasin ! Snakes, Captin, the var- 
mints lay thick as leaves behind the rocks ; and bless ye, the 
minit I let fall old Ginger from my jaw, up they springs, and 
lets fly their flint-headed arrers in amongst us, and one on 'em 
wiped me right through the leg. I tell yer what it is, hoss, I 
riled, I did, though we'd had tolerable luck in the forenoon — for 
I dropped two and a squaw and Pete got his good six — barrin' 
that the darned villians had hamstrung our mule, and we were 
bound to see the thing out. Well, Captin, as I tell ye, I 'm not 
weak in the jints, but it 's no joke to hold the heft of twenty- 
three pounds on a sight for above ten minits on a stretch ; so 
Pete and me scrouched down, made a little smoke with some 
sticks, and then we moved off a few rods, whar we got a clar 
peep ; for better than an hour we seed nothin', but on a suddin I 



52 CHAPTER VIII. 



seed the chap — I know'd him by his paintin' — that driv the arrer 
in my hide ; he was peerin' around quite bold, thinkin' we'd 
vamosed ; I jist fetched old Ginger up and drawed a bee line on 
his cratch, and, stranger, I giv hiin sich a winch in the stomach 
that he dropped straight into his tracks ; he did ! in five jumps 
I riz his har, and Pete and me warn't troubled agin for a week." 
With such pleasant converse we beguiled the time until the night 
was somewhat advanced ; when, finding a vacant corner near the 
blazing fire, with a saddle for pillow, I sank into profound slum- 
ber, and never awoke to consciousness until the band was again 
astir at sunrise. 



CHAPTER IX. 

The time passed rapidly away. The rainy season had nearly 
ended, — we were only favored with occasional showers, and by 
the latter part of February, the early spring had burst forth, and 
nothing could exceed the loveliness of the rich, verdant landscape 
around us. After the treaty and capitulation had been signed by 
the Picos at Los Angeles, their partizans dispersed, and all who 
resided in Monterey shortly returned to their homes. Every day 
brought an addition to the place — great ox-cart caravans with 
hide bodies, and unwieldy wheels of hewn timber, came screaming 
slowly along the roads, filled with women and children, who had 
sought refuge in some secure retreat in the country. Cattle soon 
were seen grazing about the hills. The town itself began to look 
alive — doors were unlocked and windows thrown open — a cafe 
and billiards emerged — pulperias, with shelves filled withagua- 
diente appeared on every corner — the barricades were torn 
down — guns removed — and the Californians themselves rode 
blithely by, with heavy, jingling spurs, and smiling faces — the 
women, too, flashed their bright eyes less angrily upon their inva- 
ders — accepted pleasant compliments without a sneer, and even 
Dofia Angustia Ximenes, who took a solemn oath upon her missal 
a few months before, never to dance again, until she could 
wear a necklace of Yankee ears, relented too, and not only 



54 CHAPTER IX. 



swept gracefully through waltz and contra danga, but when after- 
wards one of our young officers became ill with fever, she had him 
carried from the tent to her dwelling, watched him with all a 
woman's care and tenderness, as much as though she had been 
the mother that bore him, until he was carried to his last home. 
Yes, bella Senora, you may swear the same wicked oaths forever, 
and still be forgiven by all those who witnessed your disinterested 
devotion to poor Minor. 

Gradually these good people became aware that the Yankees 
were not such a vile pack of demonios as they first believed, and 
thus whenever guitars were tinkling at the fandangos, or meals 
laid upon the board, we were kindly welcomed, with the privi- 
lege of making as much love, and devouring as many frijoles as 
may have been polite or palatable. Upon visiting the residences 
of the townspeople, true to the old Spanish character there was 
no attempt made in show or ostentation — that is always reserved 
for the street or alemeda, but a stranger is received with cordial- 
ity, and a certain ease and propriety to which they seem to the 
M manner born." With the denizens of Monterey, even the 
wealthiest, cleanliness was an acquirement very little appreciated 
or practised, and I should presume the commodity of soap to be 
an article " more honored in the breach than the observance." 
For being given to cold water as a principle of lady-like existence 
I was something shocked on one occasion, to find a nice little Se- 
fiorita, to whom I had been playing the agreeable the night pre- 
vious, with a chemisette of a chocolate hue peeping through a slit 
in her sleeve ; her soft, dimpled hands, too, made me speculate 
mentally upon the appearance of her little feet, and I forthwith 
resolved, in the event of becoming so deeply infatuated as to in- 



EVENING VISIT. 55 

duce her papa to permit a change of estate, to exact a change of 
raiment in the marriage contract. 

The occasion of inspecting the arcana of this young woman's 
vestments was during a visit to her portly mamma, and I may as 
well, by way of example, describe my reception. The dwelling 
was a low, one story pile of adobies, retaining the color of the pri- 
mitive mud, and forming a large paralellogram ; it enclosed a hu^e 
pen, or corral, for cattle, over which guard was carefully mounted 
by crowds of gallinazos. There were divers collections of Indian 
families coiled and huddled about beneath the porticoes and door- 
ways, each member thereof rejoicing in great masses of wiry 
shocks of hair, quite coarse enough to weave into bird cages on an 
emergency ; there were some bee-hive shaped ovens also, from 
the apertures of which I remarked a number of filthy individuals 
immersed neck deep, taking, no doubt, balmy slumber, with the 
rain doing what they never had the energy to perform them- 
selves — washing then faces. This much for externals — men and 
beasts included, merely premising that the whole affair was situ- 
ated in a quiet detachment by itself, a few hundred yards in rear 
of the village. My guide, though a good pilot, and retaining a 
clear perception of the road, was unable to convoy me safely to 
the house, without getting stalled several times in the mire ; 
however, I reached terra firnia, thankful to have escaped with my 
boots overflowing with mud, and then we marched boldly into the 
domicile. We entered a large, white-washed sala, when, after 
clapping hands, a concourse of small children approached with a 
lighted tallow link, and in reply to our inquiries, without further 
ceremony, ushered us by another apartment into the presence 
of the mistress of the mansion. She was sitting a la grand 
Turquc^ on the chief ornamental structure that graced the cham- 



56 CHAPTER IX. 



bor — namely, the bed, upon which were sportively engaged three 
diminutive brats, with a mouse-trap — paper cigarritos — dirty feet, 
and other juvenile and diverting toys. The Doiia herself was 
swallowing and puffing clouds of smoke alternately — but I must 
paint her as she sat, through the haze. u Juana," said she, call- 
ing to a short, squat Indian girl, " lumhrecita for el Senorf* — a 
light for the gentleman — and in a moment I was likewise pouring 
forth volumes of smoke. She wore her hair, which was black and 
glossy, in natural folds straight down the neck and shoulders, 
dark complexion, lighted by deep, black, intelligent eyes, well- 
shaped features, and brilliant, white teeth. I s-aw but little of her 
figure, as she was almost entirely enveloped in shawls and bed 
clothes ; the arms, however, were visible, very large, round and 
symmetrical, which of themselves induced me to resign all preten- 
sions to becoming her son-in-law. She excused herself on the 
jDlea of indisposition for not rising, and it being one I surmised she 
was a martyr to every year or so, I very readily coincided in 
opinion, but in truth I found the Senora Mariqueta sensible, 
good-humored, and what was far more notable, the mother of 
fourteen male and five female children — making nineteen the sum 
of boys and girls total, as she informed me herself, without putting 
me to the trouble of counting the brood ; and yet she numbered 
but seven and thirty years, in the very prime of life, with the 
appearance of being again able to perform equally astonishing ex- 
ploits for the future. She named many of her friends and relatives 
who had done wonders, but none who had surpassed her in these 
infantile races. In Spain she would receive a pension, be ex- 
empted from taxes and the militia. On being told this she 
laughed heartily, and gave her full assent to any schemes under- 
. taken in California for the amelioration of the sex. Her husband, 



A NUMEROUS FAMILY 57 



who chanced to be absent, was a foreigner, but the whole family 
were highly respectable, and universally esteemed by their fellow 
citizens. After an hour's pleasant chat we took leave, with the 
promise on my part of teaching the eldest daughter, Teresa, the 
JPolka, for which I needed no incentive, as she was extremely 
graceful and pretty. 



CHAPTER X. 

One morning, at break of day, I left Monterey for a tramp among 
the hills ; the natives by this time had become pacifically disposed, 
and there were no serious apprehensions of getting a hide necklace 
thrown over one's head, in shape of the unerring lasso, if per- 
chance a Yankee strayed too far from his quarters. The war was 
virtually ended in California : there was no further hope for 
gold chains or wooden legs ; the glory had been reaped by the 
first comers ; and I made the time and shot fly together, ranging 
about the suburbs. With a fowling-piece on my arm, and a 
carbine slung to the back of an attendant, we pursued a tortuous 
path, through a gap in the hills, to the southward, and after a 
four or five miles' walk we found ourselves at the Mission of 
Carmelo. It is within a mile of the sea, protected by a neck of 
land, close to a rapid clear stream of the same name. A quaint 
old church, falling to decay, with crumbling tower and belfry, 
broken roofs, and long lines of mud-built dwellings, all in ruins, 
is what remains of a once flourishing and wealthy settlement. 
It still presents a picturesque appearance, standing on a little 
rise, above a broad fertile plain of many acres, adjacent to ths 
banks of the river, and at the base a large orchard of fruits and 
flowers. Following up the stream for some leagues, through the 
game rich level, crossing and re-crossing the pure running water, 



A TRAMP IX THE MOUNTAINS. 59 



with noble salmon flashing their silver sides at every fathom, we 
soon bagged as much game as we could stagger under : wild 
ducks, quail, partridges, hares of a very large size, and rabbits. 
Not contented with this we left the valley, and struck through a 
narrow gorge of the adjoining hills. Here I caught a glimpse of 
a trio of coyotes and instantly blazed away with the carbine, 
which brought one of them tumbling down the steep, but much 
to my surprise his two friends followed, and actually bolstered up 
their wounded comrade, and assisted him out of sight before I 
could send another bullet. They were as large as wolves, of a 
light yellowish brown, with long sharp snouts, bushy hanging 
tails, and a gait like the trot of a dog. They are very disagree- 
able customers to sheep and other small fry, and, as I discovered 
subsequently, that when badly wounded, they have a very 
unpleasant way with their teeth. Continuing onward, and hardly 
recovered from my astonishment at the rencounter with the 
coyotes, when up bounded, within thirty yards, three large 
deer, and with the coolest impudence stared me full in the face. 
Maldito ! the carbine was again in the hands of my companion, 
some distance behind, but I could not resist the temptation of 
giving a strapping buck a hail-storm of fine shot between the 
eyes. Even this only made the party a little frisky, kick up 
their heels, toss their heads, and wag their short tails. I was in 
hopes the carbine would reach me in time to send the lead more 
in a lump, but in another moment they sprang off like the wind, 
and the next seen of them was in company with a large herd, a 
mile away, with their graceful bodies and limbs standing in clear 
relief against the blue sky. I had not a doubt but that they were 
relating my chagrin as a capital buckish joke. By this time we 
had penetrated so far from ravine to hill as to have completely 



60 - CHAPTER X. 



lost our bearings, and becoming quite bewildered, I began to 
entertain serious ideas of seeking some place of shelter for the 
night. My attendant, too, had fallen down two or three times 
from exhaustion, the sun was rapidly declining, and I was not at 
all pleased with the wild appearance of the hills and valleys that 
encircled us. Throwing away the greater part of our game, we 
made a toilsome effort, and reached the crest of an adjacent 
height, in hopes of getting a glimpse of the plains of Carmelo. 
Again we were disappointed ; and while on the point of making 
the best of our bargain, by risking a hug from grizzly bears or 
panthers during the night, I espied a horseman slowly winding 
his way beneath us in the gorge. By discharging a barrel of my 
piece, and continued shouts, we soon attracted attention, and 
thus being encouraged by the sight of a fellow-being, we sprang 
briskly down the steep. However, our ally evinced no violent 
affection for us, and in a trice wheeled his horse up the opposite 
face of the acclivity ; there he paused, well out of gun-shot, and 
presently I heard a shrill voice crying, " Que es lo que quiere ? " 
" We are lost," I replied ; " will you assist us ? " With many 
a wary glance and movement, he at last came frankly towards 
us, and I then discovered an intelligent little fellow, about ten 
years of age, astride a powerful animal, which he guided by 
a sinde thono- of hide. Slipping from the saddle, and letting 
his lasso fall on the ground, he doffed his broad glazed som- 
brero, and stood awaiting my wishes. On learning our situation 
he gladly volunteered to guide us, and in return told me that 
he had been all day seeking stray cattle among the mountains, 
that the bears were very numerous, and that we had described a 
wide circuit around the hills, and were within a, short league of 
the Mission. This last was highly gratifying information, and 



THE CARMELO MISSION. 61 



mounting my worn-out attendant on the horse, our little guide 
took the bridle, and led the way towards the valley. It was 
quite dark on reaching the stream, and I felt thoroughly knocked 
up, but a few minutes bathe in the chill water gave me new life, 
and shortly after we were housed in the great hall of the Mission. 
It chanced to be Sunday evening, moreover, during carnival, and 
there were preparations for a more brilliant fandango than the 
usual weekly affair generally produced. A few horses were 
picketted about the great patio, and two or three ox-carts 
with hide bodies were serving for boudoirs to damsels, who had 
come from afar to mingle in the ball. But the company had not 
yet assembled in the old hall, that had once served the good 
frayles for a refectory ; and on entering I was kindly wel- 
comed by the Patrona Margarita, and her handsome coquettish 
daughter, Domatilda, who were the liege and lady hostesses of 
the Carmelo Mission. With her own hands the jolly madre 
soon prepared me an olla pcdrida of tomatoes, peppers, and 
the remains in my game bag. Then her laughing nymph patted 
me some tortillas ; and after eating ravenously, and draining a 
cup of aguadiente, the hospitable old lady tumbled me into 
her own spacious couch, which stood in an angle of the hall, and 
giving me a hearty slap on the back, shouted, " Daerma usted 
lien hi'jO mio hast a media ncche " — Sleep like a top until 
midnight. I needed no second bidding, and in a moment was 
buried in deep sleep. Unconscious of fleeting hours, I was at 
length restored to life, but in the most disordered frame of mind ; 
suffering under a most complicated attack of nightmare, of which 
bear-hugs, murders, manacles and music present but a slight 
idea of my agony ; and indeed, when after pinching myself, and 
tearing my eyelids fairly open, I had still great difficulty in 



e2 ' CHAPTER X. 



recalling my erring faculties. I found my own individual person 
deluged with a swarm of babies, who were lying athwart ships, 
and amid ships, fore and aft, heads and toes, every way ; and one 
interesting infant, just teething, was sucking vigorously away on 
the left lobe of my ear, while another lovingly entwined its little 
fingers in my whiskers. Nor was this half the bodily miseries I 
had so innocently endured. A gay youth, with a dripping link, 
nicely balanced against my boots, was sitting on my legs, with a 
level space on the bed before him, intently playing monte, to the 
great detriment of the purses of his audience. On glancing 
around, I beheld the lofty apartment lighted by long tallow 
candles melted against the walls, whose smoke clung in dense 
clouds around the beams of the lofty hall ; the floor was nearly 
filled, at the lower end, with groups of swarthy Indians and 
paisanos, sipping aguadiente, or indulging in the same exciting 
amusement as the gentleman sitting on my feet. On either 
side were double rows of men and women, moving in the most 
bewildering mazes of the contra danza : turning and twisting, 
twining and whirling with unceasing rapidity, keeping time to 
most inspiriting music, of harps and guitars ; whilst ever and 
anon, some delighted youth would elevate his voice, in a shout of 
ectasy, at the success of some bright-eyed senorita in the dance : 
Ay, mi alma ! Toma la bolsa ! Caramba! — Go it, my beauty! 
Take my purse ! Beautiful ! — It took me but an instant to appre- 
ciate all this ; and then, being fully roused to my wrongs, I gave 
one vigorous spring, which sent the monte man, candle, cards, 
and coppers, flying against the wall, and bounding to my feet I 
made a dash at the Patrona, drank all the licores on the tray, and 
seizing her around the waist, away we spun through the fandango. 
Long before rosy morn I had become as merry and delighted as 



FANDANGO AT CARMELO. 63 

the rest of the company. I bought a dirty pack of cards for a 
rial, and opened a monte bank, for coppers and paper cigars, and 
although a select party of Indios did their best to impose upon my 
youth and inexperience, yet on receiving their treasure of 
centavos, winning a hatful of cigarritos, and only paying half 
a one for imporias, I comprehended by their gutteral excla- 
mations that their compact re was not so verdant a person as 
they at first imagined. Thus I left them to their reflections, 
and busied myself swearing love, and sipping dukes with the 
brunettas ; vowing friendship to the men ; drinking strong waters ; 
promising to redress all grievances, to pay all claims out of my 
own pocket for the government ; and ended by repudiating the 
Yankees, and swearing myself a full-blooded Calif ornian. How- 
ever, these ebullitions were partially attributable to the heated 
rooms, and iicores of Madre Mariqueta ; but when the golden 
sun came streaming into the house, the links had formed heavy 
stalactites against the walls ; and notwithstanding the earnest 
solicitations of my new made friends, I jumped up behind my 
little guide of the evening previous, and galloped off towards 
Monterey. 

Thus passed my first visit to Carmelo, and scarcely a week 
went by that I did not enjoy a supper of one of the Patrona's 
capital ollas, with may be a little wholesome exercise to digest it, 
at the evening fandango — it was the only place where could be 
seen a dash of native life, but even this lost its charm. During 
carnival, I made my homage to all who were docile enough, and I 
must acid clean enough to receive it ; but whether owing to a 
want of tact, fervor, or devotion, I failed to keep the mercury up 
to boiling point, and after presenting one slim little dona with a 
t jro shilling brooch of great magnitude and brilliancy — crushing 



64 ' CHAPTER X. 



dozens of variegated eggs on the shining tresses of others, and 
nearly driving a horse distracted through the agency of enor- 
mous spurs, in hopes to show my skill and win a smile from 
one in particular — I at last, through weariness and disgust, 
gave up the chase, and became a devoted lover of chasing still 
wilder game in the beautiful regions around. For days and 
weeks I did naught but ride and hunt, and became so inured 
to long fatiguing tramps and night bivouacs, that with the ever- 
varying excitement of the sport, I not only slept the sounder 
in the open air, but enjoyed better health than I had before 
known. The climate of the interior is far dryer, clearer and more 
salubrious than by the sea. On the coast we were frequently for 
many successive days, annoyed by raw, foggy weather, and on one 
occasion there was a light fall of snow, but every league inland 
gives a more genial invigorating temperature. There are very few 
unhealthy spots in either Central or Lower California. On the 
low banks and tributaries of the Bay of San Francisco, fever pre- 
vails to a great extent during the summer and fall, but elsewhere 
all epidemic disorders are extremely rare. The summer subse- 
quent to our arrival in Monterey, a malignant fever attacked and 
carried off a number of foreigners, but this, although not severe 
upon the natives, was regarded as something extraordinary. 

In these hunting excursions I was often attended by some 
friendly hunter, whose time hung heavy on his hands, but usually 
by the same little fellow who had been my pilot through the Carmelo 
mountains ; his name was Juaquin Luis, and by far the most in- 
telligent, handsome boy in the place. On Sundays, with his 
gala dress of blue velvet trowsers, red sash, glazed hat and silver 
rope around it, he was quite a picture. His knowledge of all the 
roads, most intricate paths and passes for many leagues, was re 



THE LITTLE HUNTER. 65 

markable, and at times I was almost confounded at his apparently 
instinctive sagacity — he knew the haunts and habits of game, was 
a capital shot, rode a horse like part of the animal, never daunted, 
never dismayed, never without an expedient, he was the most 
perfect child of the woods conceivable, and quite won my heart 
by his intelligence. He was always delighted to be my compa- 
nion, for not being one of those wise children who knew their 
sires, his home was none of the 'pleasantest, for his dame was 
living with a cross-grained cobler, in relatione^ or as the young- 
ster expressed it, she was wedded, dctras la iglesia — behind the 
church — or in other words, had cheated the priest out of his mar- 
riage dues, and being, I fancied, rather given to aguadiente, the 
domestic felicity of the mansion was somewhat marred ; conse- 
quently the boy was left to thrive upon his own resources. Some- 
times the old lady endeavored to detain him from accompanying 
me, but I threatened to stop her grog, by reporting her conduct 
to the grave and reverend alcalde of the place, and thenceforth 
she contented herself by extorting a few rials from her child's 
store, at my expense. 

On passing the hut on the outskirts of the town and giving a 
shrill whistle, out sprang Juaquinito, with his little black head and 
sparkling eyes shoved through the slit of his serapa, swinging 
the lasso in steady circles, and noosing his horse in the corral, the 
next moment would leap on his back, take the carbine or rifle, and 
off we sallied. At night we made fire, ate broiled partridges without 
stint, and slept under the same blanket. One of our excursions 
was to the river and plains of Salinas, about fifteen miles in a 
northerly direction, along the shores of the bay. These plains 
vary from ten to twenty miles in width, and extend fifty or sixty 
into the interior, and like the great plain of Santa Clara, have 



66 CHAPTER X. 



evidently at some former period been the beds of large lakes or 
rivers. The Salinas is walled in by compact ridges of mountains 
running transversely towards the ocean, from the main Sierra 
Madre of California. The river is a muddy rapid stream, sub- 
jected to heavy freshets during the melting of the upland snows, 
and coursing close along the southern edge of the plains. On 
approaching the heights above the plain, I suddenly checked the 
reins, perfectly transfixed with surprise ; for never in my life had 
I beheld such a magnificent vista of its kind ; one broad dead level 
extending far as the eye could compass, like a solid brilliant sea 
of grass and flowers, dotted here and there by vast flocks of sheep 
and cattle, with the margins of the stream marked out for many 
a league, with fringes of drooping willows. Descending the hill, 
we swam the river, and after a short ride along the verge of the 
plain, came to the molino — mill — and rancho of one Bill Ander- 
son, who, with his head powdered by flour, like a lord of the olden 
time, received me cordially, and being furnished with fresh horses, 
away we started to slaughter wild geese. They were congregated 
in myriads, both white and grey, feeding on the rich short grasses, 
and when disturbed, the noise of their wings and throats was truly 
deafening — they were excessively shy, and finding even buck 
shot not efficacious in doing its work from a fowling-piece, I was 
obliged to throw single balls among the masses, from the carbine ; 
by which method, in a few hours, we had collected a respectable 
horse load ; they were quite fat, and resembled the tame goose 
with us in every particular, except the bill being much sharper 
and smaller. During the wet seasons, a great number of natural 
canals intersect these lovely plains, and are filled with swans, wild 
ducks, snipe and curlew, besides multitudes of quails and cranes, 
with now and then a large eascle to fatten on them. As ni^ht set 



PLAINS OF SALINAS. 67 



in, and the wolves were beginning to cry and howl melodiously 
after the wounded or sleeping birds, we returned to the rancho. 

Our host, the afore-mentioned Bill Anderson, was a Cockney : 
very hospitable, very much given to the bottle, and withal a 
great talker and liar. His histor}^ was a simple one. Leaving 
England as ship-boy, he deserted and drifted about the islands of 
the Pacific, until at last he found himself stranded on the shores 
of California. Here he shortly became a man of importance, 
from having been summarily carried out of the country, with the 
Graham party, who, like our Bear friends, had rendered them- 
selves highly obnoxious to the native population. In course of 
time Bill was released, and returned ; established a mill on the 
plains, married a Californian wife, and then got drunk at his 
leisure and pleasure. Bill received me again most civilly, as he 
also did a bottle of brandy. Whether attributable to my arrival, 
or necessity, I did not pause to inquire, but certain it is that a 
bullock was slain immediately thereafter ; and, I presume in com- 
pliment to the carcass, an inundation of dependents of both sexes 
and of all hues and colors, had dropt in to share the feast. Bill 
and I, with little Juaquin retired to an inner apartment, which 
happened to be laid with a plank floor, and a good fire in the 
place ; there was a very respectable preparation for supper, and 
being much too famished to mind the filth, I shut eyes, opened 
mouth, and ate away voraciously. Dogs soon licked the plates 
clean, in readiness for breakfast, probably ; and in a couple of 
hours my thirsty host, from a too frequent application of the 
brandy to his parched lips, became very gloriously tipsy ; and 
after indulging me with a full confession of many sins, and all his 
grievances, moreover his utterance becoming somewhat indistinct, 
I bade him adios, while about relating what he would observe 



68 ' CHAPTER X. 



to tlie " English Secretary of State, if lie only had him there," — 
pointing with the bottle to his dozing sposa. 

My shake-down was in a small receptacle for rubbish, fleas, 
and other lively furniture, which in getting at, I was obliged to 
pass a large room, laid out with about five-and-twenty of the 
servitors — men, women, and children — all in heaps. There were 
a number of limbs obstructing the passage, and I was obliged to 
push them aside, rather unceremoniously, I fear, for I was greeted 
by a volley of Indian gutteral curses, sounding quite like a person 
who had swallowed a collection of shells, and was anxious to get 
them up more expeditiously than was possible. Being too tired 
and drowsy to heed their complaints, with Joaquinito I betook 
myself to mat and blankets, and never moved until break of day ; 
when I arose, kicked up an Indian, and sent for fresh horses, 
and continued shooting geese and curlew, until the morning was 
far advanced ; then, after swearing devoted friendship to Bill 
Anderson, his bullocks, and his wife, we departed for the port. 



CHAPTER XI. 

We remained two months at Monterey ; and then upon the 
assembling of the squadron, and the arrival of a new Commodore, 
rather than play segundo violo, and have the blue pennant of 
a Commander-in-Chief flaunting its folds in face of our red, we 
were glad to lift the anchors, and sail for the waters of San 
Francisco. Steering too far from the land, a northerly gale 
arose, and although the distance is but eighty miles, we were 
a week in gaining our destination, on the 29th of March. 

The face of the coast presents the same general aspect as that 
to the southward of Monterey — one great sea-wall of mountains, 
split into deep ravines, and tufted with towering pines. Many 
of these trees that fringe what Humboldt terms the maritime 
Alps of California, are of enormous magnitude. A German 
naturalist, employed in scientific pursuits in the country, assured 
me that he had measured pines in the Santa Cruz mountains 
fifty-seven feet in girth at the base, and carrying the lofty 
tops upon a clear shaft for two hundred and seventy feet without 
a branch ! 

I have also seen, in my Californian rambles, pines of immense 
growth, taking root in the wild glens of rich and sheltered moun- 
tain gorges, shooting up straight and clear as javelins, with 



70 CHAPTER XL 



symmetrical columns that would make too taunt masts for the 
tallest " amiral " that ever floated. 

Near to the mouth of San Francisco the land recedes, and 
passing through the narrow jaws of the Straits, which are framed 
in by bold, precipitous, and rocky cliffs, where violent currents 
are sweeping and foaming in eddying whirls around their base, 
you soon debouch into the outer bay. It is like a great lake, 
stretching away right and left, far into the heart of California. 
To the north another aperture, and still another, leads into the 
Bays of San Pablo and Sosun, washing the valleys of Sinoma 
andTulares, and fed by the rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin, 
after passing over the golden sands of the rich mines beyond. 
To the southward the waters are not so extended, and the bay 
laves the garden of California in the beautiful vale of Santa 
Clara. Green islands adorn the bosom of these vast estuaries, 
and everywhere are found safe and commodious harbors. 

Our anchorage was near the little village of Yerbabuena, five 
miles from the ocean, and within a short distance from the 
Franciscan Mission and Presidio of the old royalists. The site 
seems badly chosen, for although it reposes in partial shelter, 
beneath the high bluffs of the coast, yet a great portion of the 
year it is enveloped in chilling fogs ; and invariably, during the 
afternoon, strong sea breezes are drawn through the straits like a 
funnel, and playing with fitful violence around the hills, the sand 
is swept in blinding clouds over the town and the adjacent shores 
of the bay. Yet with all these drawbacks the place was rapidly 
thriving under the indomitable energy of our countrymen. Tene- 
ments, large and small, were running up, like card-buHt houses, 
in all directions. The population was composed of Mormons, 
backwoodsmen, and a few very respectable traders from tha 



PRANKS ON HORSES. 71 

eastern cities of the United States. Very rare it was to see a 
native : our brethren had played the porcupine so sharply as to 
oblige them to seek their homes among more congenial kindred. 
On Sunday, however, it was not uncommon to encounter gay 
cavalcades of young paisanos, jingling in silver chains and 
finery, dashing into town, half-a-dozen abreast ; having left their 
sweethearts at the Mission, or some neighboring rancho, for the 
evening fandango. Towards afternoon, when these frolicsome 
caballeros became a trifle elevated with their potations, they were 
wont to indulge in a variety of capricious feats on horseback — 
leaping and wheeling — throwing the lasso over each other ; — or 
if by chance a bullock appeared, they took delight while at full 
speed in the carrara, in catching the beasts by a dextrous twist 
in the tail ; and the performance was never satisfactorily con- 
cluded until the bullock was thrown a complete summerset over 
his horns. These paisanos of California, like the guachos of 
Buenos Ayres, and guaso of Chili, pass most of their existence 
on horseback ; there the natural vigor of manhood seems all at 
once called into play, and horse and backer appear of the same 
piece. The lasso is their plaything, either for service or pastime; 
with it, the unruly wild horse, or bullock, is brought within reach 
of the knife. Ferocious Bruin himself gets his throat twisted 
and choked, and with heavy paws spread wide apart, is dragged 
for miles, perhaps to the bear-bait, notwithstanding his glittering 
jaws, and giant efforts to escape. Without the horse and lasso, 
these gentry are helpless as infants ; their horses are admirably 
trained^ and sometimes perform under a skilful hand pranks that 
always cause surprise to strangers. I once saw a band of horses, 
at General Rosa's quinta, near Buenos Ayres, trained to run like 
hares, with fore and hind legs lashed together by thongs of hide ; 



72 ' CHAPTER XI. 



it was undertaken to preserve the animals from being thrown by 
the Indian bolas, and the riders, as a consequence, lanced to 
death. But I was far more amused one afternoon while passing a 
fandango, near Monterey, to see a drunken vaquero — cattle- 
driver — mounted on a restive, plunging beast, hold at arms 
length a tray of glasses, brimming with aguadiente, which he 
politely offered to everybody within reach of his curvettings, 
without ever once spilling a drop. I thought this better than 
Camille Leroux, in the polka, or a guacho picking up a cigarritto 
with his teeth, at a hand gallop ! It is remarkable, too, how 
very long the Californian can urge a horse, and how lightly he 
rides, even when the beast appears thoroughly exhausted, totter- 
ing at every pace under a strange rider ; yet the native will lift 
him to renewed struggles, and hold him up for leagues further. 
Nor is it by the aid of his enormous spurs, for the punishment is 
by no means so severe as the sharp rowels with us ; but accustomed 
to the horse from infancy, he appears to divine his powers, and 
thus a mutual and instinctive bond is established between them. 
The saddles here, as well as those along the southern coasts, 
partake in build of the old Spanish high peak and croupe, and are 
really intended for ease and comfort to the rider. In Chili the 
pillion is used — a soft material of rugs, smooth and thick, thrown 
over the saddle frame ; but it distends the thighs too greatly. 
The Californian is both hard and heavy, and murderous to tne 
horse. The Mexican is best, — less cumbersome, more elegant 
in construction, and a great support to the rider. The stirrups 
of all are similar — weighty wooden structures — and the feet rest 
naturally in them. 

There is nothing either pleasing or inviting in the landscape in 
the vicinity of Yerbabuena. All looks bare and sterile from a 



LIFE IN YERBABUENA. 73 



distance, and on closer inspection, the deep sandy soil is covered 
with impervious thickets of low thorny undergrowth, with none of 
the rich green herbage, forests or timber as in Monterey. The 
roads were so heavy that the horses could hardly strain, nearly 
knee deep, through the sand, and consequently, our rides were re- 
stricted to a league's pasear to the mission, or across the narrow 
strip of the peninsular to the old presidio ; but in the town we 
passed the hours pleasantly, became conversant with the Mormon 
bible and doctrine, rolled ten-pins, and amused ourselves nightly, 
at the monte in the casa de lelida de Broicn ; still there was a 
great stir and bustle going on. A number of large merchant ships 
had arrived, bringing the regiment of New York volunteers^ and 
the beach was strewn with heavy guns, carriages, piles of shot, 
ordnance stores, wagons, tents and camp equipage, whilst the 
streets were filled with troops, who belonged to the true demo- 
cracy, called one another mister, snubbed their officers, and did 
generally as they pleased, which was literally nothing. However - 
in due time, they were brought into the traces, and properly 
buckled to their duty, when their services were exerted in r 
ing a battery of long 24-pounders, to command the straits, and 
their excitable spirits kept under control at their quarters in the 
presidio. 

This was Yerbabuena as we found it on our first coming — 

o 

rapidly springing into importance, and bidding fair at some future 
day, even without the advantages to be derived from the mines 
which were then unknown, to become the greatest commercial 
port on the Pacific. 

Previous to our arrival in the waters of Francisco, a frightful 
incident transpired amidst the Californian mountains, which goes 
far to surpass any event of the kind heard or seen, from the black 
4 



74 CHAPTER XI. 



hole of Calcutta, to smoking the Arabs in Algeria. It relates to 
a party of emigrants, whose shocking inhuman .cannibalisms and 
sufferings exceeded all belief. The news first reached us in 
Monterey, and also that a party had been despatched to succor 
them. From an officer of the navy in charge of the expedition, 
and from one of the survivors, a Spanish boy, named Baptiste, I 
learned the following particulars : The number of emigrants were 
originally eighty ; through a culpable combination of ignorance 
and folly, they loitered many weeks on the route, when, upon 
gaining the sierra, the snows set in, the trails became blocked up 
and impassable, and they were obliged to encamp for the winter ; 
their provisions were shortly exhausted, their cattle were devoured 
to the last horse's hide, hunger came upon them, guant and ter- 
rible, starvation at last — men, women and children starved to 
death, and were eaten by their fellows — insanity followed. When 
relief arrived, the survivors were found rolling in filth, parents 
eating their own offspring, denizens of different cabins exchanging 
limbs and meat — little children tearing and devouring the livers 
and hearts of the dead, and a general apathy and mania pervaded 
all alike, so as to make them scout the idea of leaving their pro- 
perty in the mountains before the spring, even to save their mis- 
erable lives ; and on separating those who were able to bear the 
fatigue of travelling, the cursings and ravings of the remainder 
were monstrous. One Dutchman actually ate a full-grown body 
in thirty-six hours ! another boiled and devoured a girl nine years 
old, in a single night. The women held on to life with greater 
tenacity than the men — in fact, the first intelligence was brought 
to Sutter's fort, on the Sacramento, by two young girls. One of 
them feasted on her good papa, but on making soup of her lover's 
head, she confessed to some inward qualms of conscience. The 



CANNIBAL EMIGRANTS. 75 



young Spaniard, Baptiste, was hero of the party, performing all 
labor and drudgery in getting fuel and water, until his strength 
became exhausted ; he told me that he ate Jake Bonner and the 
baby, " eat baby raw, stewed some of Jake, and roasted his head, 
not good meat, taste like sheep with the rot ; but, sir, very hun- 
gry, eat anything," — these were his very words. There were 
thirty survivors, and a number of them without feet, either frozen 
or burnt off, who were placed under the care of our surgeons on 
shore. Although nothing has ever happened more truly dreadful, 
and in many respects ludicrously so, yet what was surprising, the 
emigrants themselves perceived nothing very extraordinary in all 
these cannibalisms, but seemed to regard it as an every day 
occurrence — surely they were deranged. The party who went to 
their relief deserved all praise, for they, too, endured every hard- 
ship, and many were badly frostbitten. The cause of all this 
suffering was mainly attributable to the unmeaning delay and in- 
dolence attending their early progress on the route, but with every 
advantage in favor of emigration, the journey in itself must be 
attended with immense privation and toil. The mere fact, that 
by the upper route there is one vast desert to be travelled over, 
many hundred miles in width, affording very little vegetation or 
sustenance, and to crown the difficulty, terminated by the rugged 
chain of Californian mountains, is almost sufficient in itself to 
deter many a good man and strong, from exposing his life and 
property, for an unknown home on the shores of the Pacific. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Tarrying a fortnight at Yerbabuena, we then crossed the 
bay and dropped anchor beneath the lofty hills of Sousoulito, 
where we busied ourselves filling up with fresh water. This 
anchorage is a great resort for whale ships, coming from the 
north-west fishing grounds, for water and supplies ; the procu- 
rante of which was an Englishman, for many years a resident in 
the country, and possessing myriads of cattle, and a principality 
in land and mountains ; among other valuables, he was the sire 
of the belle of California, in the person of a young girl named 
Marianna. Her mother was Spanish, with the remains of great 
personal charms ; as to the child, I never saw a more patrician 
style of beauty and native elegance in any clime where Castillian 
donas bloom. She was brunette, with an oval face, magnificent 
dark grey eyes, with the corners of her mouth slightly curved down- 
ward, so as to give a proud and haughty expression to the face — 
in person she was tall, graceful and well shaped, and although 
her feet were encased in deer skin shoes, and hands bare, they 
still might have vied with any belles of our own. I believe the 
Lovely Marianna was as amiable as beautiful, and I know her bright 
eye glancing along the delicate sights of her rifle, sent the leaden 
missive with the deadly aim of a marksman, and that she rode 
like an angel, and could strike a bullock dead with one quick 



A BEARr CHASE. 77 



blow of a keen blade, but notwithstanding these domestic accom- 
plishments and anglo-Saxon lineage, she held the demonios Yan- 
kees in mortal abhorrence ; but who could blame her, they had 
murdered a brace of her handsomest lovers, and this in California, 
where lovers were scarce, was a crime not to be forgiven. 

One mornino; I shouldered a rifle — indebted to Don Ricardo 
for horses, and his beautiful daughter for a cup of water, and 
being attended by a little truant ship-boy as guide, who had been 
left to cure hides during the absence of his vessel, we dashed in- 
land. Crossing a belt of mountains, we struck the sea shore, and 
turning to the northward, ascended a succession of steep hills, 
until we had gained a rocky table-land above — there was no tim- 
ber to be seen, and except the stunted undergrowth netted to- 
gether in valleys and ravines, all was one rolling scene of grass, 
wild oats and flowers. Near by was a small sheet of fresh water, 
caught by the rain and held in by a narrow plateau, swarming 
with water fowl, and framed by broken masses of huge rocks. It 
was a great resort for deer, and I found them herding in large 
bands of thirty and forty together, but from the nature of the 
country, so open and free from foliage, it required the utmost 
caution to approach within striking distance. However, I man- 
aged to pop the death billets into the hearts of two noble bucks, 
and while creeping down a gully for a shot at a third, I was star- 
tled by the shouts and gestures of the boy, " Here's a grizzly a- 
coming ! here's a grizzly." Gott in heimmell, I mentally ejacu- 
lated — there is going to be a race. Away I clambered and ran to 
the nearest height — there was a huo-e black monster, the size of a 
bullock, coming from the direction of the lake, and tearing up the 
opposite ridge towards where the horses were picketed. The 
frightened beasts scenting their enemy, were plunging and snort- 



78 CHAPTER XII. 



ing terrifically, until at last they broke their riatas, and plunged 
like mad down the steep — the boy was making his heels fly as if 
provided with a steam engine in his trowsers ; then looking uptfn the 
mission as fully accomplished, I tightened my belt, and leaped in 
the tracks of my companion. I have no accurate means of deter- 
mining the rapidity of my flight, but should any one feel disposed 
to test the full capacity of his lungs and legs, he can do so to the 
utmost, with a grizzly behind him. I little thought, the last time 
I saw one at the Jar din des Plant es y and took such interest in 
watching children feeding him with sweet buns, enclosing nice bits 
of tobacco, or a pinch of snuff, that I should encounter one of his 
brethren among the wilds of California, with the joke entirely 
the other way. We never halted until a good mile lay between 
Bruin's paws and our own, then we could see him lazily walking 
along the crest of a hill, with a saddle of venison in his dainty 
jaws. One of the horses in his anxiety to be foremost in 
the race, leaped over the boy, inflicting an unpleasant hoof tap 
on the ribs — fortunately the injury was not serious, and we con- 
trived to catch one and lasso the other ; but may the devil catch 
that bear, I was obliged to leave my strapping bucks to his tender 
mercies, and return to the ship, scared and chagrined beyond 
measure — laughed at, of course ; still I deemed it far preferable 
than to be hugged to death, with the only consolation left in 
knowing that what part of one is not devoured will be carefully 
buried, according to custom, for another meal. 

There is scarcely a resident in the mountains of Upper Cali- 
fornia who has not, at one time or another, been attacked by 
these formidable beasts. I saw the scars, left by the claws of 
one, on the broad back of a fine old Irishman ; and he informed 
me, that after being torn from the saddle, he feigned death, until 



ANGEL ISLAND. 79 



his friends, who wore in sight, came up, and drove some balls into 
the beast, who never for a moment before removed his powerful 
jaws from within two inches of his victim's face. They are 
extremely hard to kill, and unless the bullets take effect in the 
head or heart, are only rendered the more infuriated. 

Previous to the adventure at Sousoulito, I had been in the 
habit of expending all my powder and prowess on Angel Island. 
It is a very picturesque little spot, about three miles in circum- 
ference, rising to the height of near eight hundred feet, and 
radiating in numberless ridges and ravines down to the water's 
edge. There are many fertile slopes luxuriating in fine trees and 
vegetation, and on all sides pure rills of water leaping into the 
bay. Lying in a wide sweep of the San Francisco, within a mile 
of the main land, the deer resort there in great numbers, to feed 
on the palatable herbs growing on the northern sides, and also for 
the close shelter afforded, beneath multitudes of the densest net- 
work of tangled thickets that ever man or quadruped has explored. 
Angel Island will for ever be a bright oasis in my hunting career, 
as it was the* ground of my maiden prowess. Nor shall I soon 
forget the day, when, tired as possible after a long unsuc- 
cessful tramp, I happened to glance down a gentle ravine and 
beheld a sturdy buck nibbling daintily at the young shoots. 
Blazes ! how the blood and excitement came dancing back through 
veins and wearied frame, even to the extremity of my trigger- 
joint ! Up came the heavy tube ! Click ! crack ! — and at the 
instant, the wounded deer sprang convulsively in the air and fell 
back dead ; — down the gully — heels up ; — the edge of a sheath- 
knife made a very respectable slip athwart his throat ; and the 
same evening he was quietly reposing, among less gamey meats, 
under the eye of the sentinel, on the frigate's gun-deck. I have 



80 CHAPTER XII. 



killed many a one since, but I shall never again feel the 
same thrill of triumph as that I experienced in this my first 
effort, 

I also had the good fortune to slay an elk on the same island, 
and I believe the only one ever found there. On seeing him rush 
past, I at first mistook him for a horse, but on perceiving the short 
cocked-up tail, small elegant head and branching antlers, I 
quickly changed my opinion ; and as he paused a second on the 
brow of a projection below, to honor me with an inspection, I 
returned the compliment by laying my cheek to the rifle. Crack ! 
Away he trotted — none but the does bound — apparently unhurt, 
and I followed in the wake ; the next bullet made him squirm, 
and at the third I noticed a crimson stream pouring from his 
mouth ; then feeling satisfied there was some essential injury done 
to his digestion, and coming again within range, about a mile from 
the last shot, I pitched another ball right through the spine : 
three or four frightful leaps, and down he went, plunging, groan-' 
ing, and bleeding, to the foot of the slope. As I came up, he 
sprang to his feet, and with painful moanings attempted to give 
me a taste of his horns, so I let him have the coup de grace 
crashing through the brains. Upon examination, every shot was 
within four inches diameter, near the centre of the back, as I was 
each time compelled to fire, as he stood or ran, from below. It 
required the full strength of six stout men, with ropes, to drag 
the carcass to the beach — weighing, when dressed, over six 
hundred pounds, and we found him most delicious eating. This 
was my crowning achievement, the pleasure enhanced by enter- 
taining no fears that the bears could rob me of the prize before 
getting to the boat; nevertheless, there we ;e many speculations 



ELK SHOOTING. gl 



volunteered by malicious gentry on board, who, from the hair 
being somewhat rubbed off, in the transit to the beach, insisted 
that I had massacred a pack-mule, which was in itself men- 
dacious slander. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Having completed watering at Sousoulito, we left San Fran- 
cisco and returned to Monterey. Even during the short period 
of our absence a rapid improvement was visible. Many Mor- 
mons had arrived, the streets were cleansed, and vehicles of 
a civilized build were occasionally beheld in the town. Some 
companies of the Volunteer Regiment were encamped on the 
slopes of the hills, and the artillery were busily at work throwing 
up fortifications on a pretty eminence, overlooking the town and 
harbor. Grog shops were thriving apace — handsomely patronized 
by Jack and the soldiers, — and monte banks and gaming were 
following en suite. Stone buildings were under construction ; 
and among others, through the excellent management of the 
Alcalde, a large school-house presented a bold front to the un- 
educated natives ; thus we had the vices and virtues hand in hand 
— no existing without them. There was also a little newspaper 
published weekly ; for, with the usual enterprise of our countrymen, 
and their naturally saturnine dispositions, they had pounced upon 
a fount of types, carefully secreted beneath the font of the church, 
and instead of being applied to their original purpose of dis- 
seminating the authority of Mexican rulers, they were made 
to preach the true republican doctrine to all unbelievers among 
the astonished Californians. The editor of this infantile journal 



ISLAND OF GUADALUPE. g 3 

was Dr. Semple, who although supposed to have been connected 
with the famous Bear party, wielded the editorial pen with the 
same facility as his rifle, and merits all praise for having been the 
pioneer of civil and religious liberty in the country. I only trust 
the Doctor may live to fill his ample pockets with gold dust, even 
though they be lengthy as his legs or editorials. 

Remaining barely long enough to take in provisions, we left 
Monterey on the 19th of April, and beating clear of Piney Point, 
with a spanking breeze, turned our prow towards the Mexican 
coast. A few days afterwards, during the night, we discovered 
the Island of Guadalupe, laid down in the charts more than half 
a degree too far south,* though, singularly enough, correct in 
longitude. Fortunately we had changed the ship's course pre- 
viously, for as the night was dark and cloudy we stood a chance 
of making a nearer acquaintance than would have been satis- 
factory to the noble frigate : in fact at all times we labored under 
great disadvantages in being destitute of maps of sufficient accu- 
racy for the commonest purposes of navigation, and those at all 
useful we were obliged to compile ourselves from the rough 
sketches and experience of navigators frequenting the coast ; still 
we made great speed, and the flying fish flew from before us as 
we entered the tropic. At midnight, on the 26th we doubled 
Cape San Lucas, the extreme southern point of that long finger- 
like Peninsular of Lower California. 

Lower California embraces an extent of territory seven hundred 
miles in length, and varies in breadth from thirty to eighty miles ; 
broken up into barren mountains four or five thousand feet in 
height, verging close upon the shores of sea and gulf. The 
country is very unproductive, and only serves to subsist a small 

♦ The correct latitude is 29° !4'> 



84 CHAPTER XIII. 



population of probably not over ten thousand. There are a few 
narrow valleys, watered by the condensation of clouds and mist 
in the dry season from the naked heights, which serves for fer- 
tilizing strips of rich soil below, producing maize and fruits. 

The Jesuits have, centuries ago, even in these sterile regions, 
planted the banners of their faith, and the missions and villages 
that sprang up around them still exist. The principal places 
are Todos Santos, on the sea coast ; San Antonio, in the 
interior; San Jose, La Paz, and Loretto, the capital, lying on the 
shores of the- inland gulf. There are two excellent harbors — the 
Bay of La Paz, and another higher up called Escondida ; both 
places having deep anchorage, and fresh water, for the largest 
vessels. 

There is but little trade carried on with the Peninsula : a few 
small craft exchange country-made cheese and soap for domestic 
goods in San Bias and Mazatlan. Near Cape San Lucas had 
been found by the whalers a resort for a new species of fish, pro- 
ducing an oil supposed to be suitable for paints. One or two 
ships were filled, but we heard subsequently the material did not 
answer the desired purpose. There is the island of Carmen 
within the gulf, which contains vast lakes of salt, as inexhaustible 
as the guano beds on the Peruvian coast. This salt is of excel- 
lent quality ; it is cut out in large blocks, stacked, and left to be 
washed by the rains, when it becomes ready for shipping. These 
are all the known inducements for trade, of the Peninsula and the 
Adriatic of the Pacific. Guaymas, situated nearly at the head of 
the gulf, and Mazatlan abreast the southern cape, though neither 
possess such safe havens, with so good fresh water ports, still 
have positions more adaptable for commerce on the main shores 
of Mexico, 



WE BLOCKADE MAZATLAN. 85 



At daylight we were boarded by one Ritchie, who played the 
role of marine postmaster for our squadron ; and then steering for 
thirty miles along the high, barren, sterile coast, we hove-to off 
the little bay of San Jose ; communicated with one of our ships- 
of-war ; again filled away, and lazily fanned across the Sea of 
Cortes to our destination. This occupied, at a snaiPs pace, three 
long days, and the next morning we awoke within the scorching 
lines of the tropics — one-half the horizon bounded by a dull 
monotonous ripple of sea, and hazy sky, and the other faced by 
the high sierras framing the grand plateau of Mexico, and nearer 
a line of hot rugged rocks, and islets, and white sandy beaches, 
together with ranges of houses bordering upon the shores, and 
upon the hills ; which was the goodly town of Mazatlan. We 
anchored, as it were, at sea, off the bluff promontory of Creston ; 
an island itself, divided by a narrow strait from the main, and 
resembling a sleeping lion, with paws crossed before him. The 
British frigate Constance, a French corvette, another of our 
own, with two merchant vessels, comprised the entire nautical 
coterie. Our arrival caused some excitement in the town, and 
we were in ho23es the authorities would either strike for inde- 
pendence, or declare themselves neutral, and thus open the port, 
as at the time we had no serious intentions of molesting them ; 
but we were disappointed in our anticipations, and found there 
was naught to do save maintaining a dull, idle, passive blockade 
for a long month to come. 

The day after our arrival, two armed boats were sent to make 
a reconnoissance of the old harbor, for the purpose of selecting a 
suitable berth for the ships, in case an attack should be made 
Not perceiving any bustle or stir pervading the town, we pulled 
warily in, until, on passing out from cover of the corvette's guns, 



86 CHAPTER XIII. 



we unconsciously raised the most infernal din imaginable. Drums 
rattled incessantly, dirty soldiers formed in companies ; the Gov- 
ernor and suite attended by a guard of cavalry galloped up and 
down the beach. Consuls run up their national flags, women and 
children ran up the hills ; all evidently in great consternation at 
the anticipation of a hostile invasion. On comprehending the 
true state of the case, we amused ourselves out of musket shot, 
by making feints to land, and by this method we kept three or 
four hundred filthy villains in a violent state of fatigue and per- 
spiration, running and scampering from point to point to oppose 
us. No sooner did they get comfortably posted, and weapons in 
readiness on the cliffs, than in we would dash for the beach. At 
last the whole garrison turned out, and getting a field piece under 
way, manned by three jackasses, rather than give them the laugh 
against us, we thought advisable to edge out of range, and thus 
when they had cleverly pulled the piece into a commanding posi- 
tion, they could only greet us with a volley of execrations instead 
of grape shot. However, we completed our work by taking the 
requisite bearings and planting a buoy, which was cut adrift the 
same night for a large reward, and carried about the town in 
great triumph and procession, and generally believed to be a Yan- 
kee bomb. Indeed, these Mazatlanese were extremely wroth and 
patriotic during the blockade, and it was only a week preceding 
our advent, that they had illuminated the town in honor of Santa 
Anna's victory at Buena Vista. The fact was, the Mexican 
general's dispatch was not altogether so clear as the circumstan- 
ces of the case demanded, and it admitted of a variety of con 
structions. 

Still, after escaping the bolts of Mars, we came near being 
sacrificed to the cestus of Venus, for, on pulling towards a rocky 



THE LADIES DECEIVE US. 87 



ledge, we discovered two sunny-faced maidens, one attired in a 
red camisetta, and the other waiving a manta, in a most enticing 
and beguiling manner. Intercourse with fashionable society im- 
pelled me, from politeness, to regard them through a glass, and a 
capital spy-glass it proved to be, for I was able to discern thirty 
or forty of their admirers temporarily ensconced behind the rocks, 
and each, too, adorned with a. musket. We halted, made a low 
obeisance, and retreated rapidly on board, leaving them the oppor- 
tunity of forwarding a despatch by express, to head-quarters, nar- 
rating how los Yankis eran repidsados en varios puntos — how the 
Yankees were put to flight. 

On the following morning was captured the first prize — a mis- 
erable little schooner from San Bias, laden with plank and plain- 
tains, rejoicing in the classic appellation of Diana, and having 
given the boats a smart pull, she was christened the chased 
Diana. The Patron was Italian, who wept like a pump — 
talked of his utter ruin, and starving bambinos to such an extent, 
that after taking and paying liberally for his fruit and lumber, 
he was permitted to depart ; he afterwards proved to be an arrant 
rogue, and turned an honest penny while the war lasted, by smug 
gling powder to the Mexicans. He was too wily to be caught 
the second time. 

At night there were always signal fires burning on the hill tops 
around the town, as a warning to vessels approaching the coast ; 
but with all their vigilance and caution, our boats after being out 
all night, generally returned with some indifferent prizes — at best 
it was but pin-hook business, for we cared not to make war upon 
the poor, causing us constant annoyance, and after all the trouble 
the little prizes were released with lightened cargoes, and heavier 



83 CHAPTER XIII. 



pockets of the owners, for which no doubt, the scamps would have 
been pleased to be captured daily. 

In a few days our consort received orders to blockade Guay- 
mas, a port of some commercial importance, nearly at the head 
of the gulf of California, and she accordingly sailed, leaving a 
small prize tender, a schooner of about forty tons, to be " turned 
over," in a professional sense, to the flag-ship — there being no 
more enterprising person than myself who cared to assume so im- 
posing a command, I was at once installed in the skipper ship and 
was immediately paddled on board. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Leaping over the taffrail of the Rosita, without the aid of an 
accommodation ladder, I found myself the monarch of a peopled 
deck of fifteen trusty sailors, and a small boy, to whose trust, from 
sad experience, I confided nothing uncorked or unlocked. There 
were the same number of carbines, pistols, pikes, cutlasses, fishing 
lines and a few other etceteras, pitched in bulk on the floor of a 
small cabin, just sufficiently bunkish to stow my very worthy first 
lieutenant, Mr. Earl, and my own rather unportly self. This, 
I believe, comprised all the equipage that was to add dignity to 
the flag of so tall an admiral. Hoisting all sail in the afternoon, 
and bobbing about a number of hours, we came to anchor during 
the night under lee of the Venados Islands — piles of rugged 
red rocks, five hundred feet high, — steep, precipitous, parched, 
and arid : their situation was within a mile from the main land, 
and ten times that space from the frigate's anchorage ; an excel- 
lent position for intercepting small craft, bound from the Gulf 
into the old port of Mazatlan. We soon had the little Rosa 
clean and trim ; got up new spars, and on their tapering stems 
spread loftier muslin than those she had been accustomed to carry, 
which, in the absence of proper materials, the sailors had quickly 
fashioned out of duck frocks. Then we scrubbed her bottom, 
re-arranged thestowrage, put on a new coat of paint, so that she 



90 CHAPTER XIV. 



worked like a top, sailed tolerably well, and with her Yankee 
pennant and flag might fairly make her old masters on the shore 
right proud of the little craft, and indulge, as they did, hi some 
yearnings to get hold of her again. Our life was not one of quiet 
repose, nor were we overburthened with luxuries and comforts, 
but anything is better than the insufferable monotony of a ship of 
war, even though one loses in comfort by the exchange ; for we 
had yariety and excitement, which of itself is preferable to the 
tame stupidity of the quarter-deck of a big ship, or uninterrupted 
yawnings in the gun-room. 

We were boarded the first morning by three drunken English- 
men, in a whale-boat, who informed us that the frigate's boats 
had captured a fine schooner called the Correo. They also 
brought off what is consularly termed " a distressed American," 
a very sombre-hued person, who, by his own showing, gave us 
reason to believe him a Carolina nigger, whose asperities of wool 
and color had been somewhat softened by being engrafted on a 
more distinguished stock in the city of Boston. His profession 
was that of cook, and the most urgent cause of bidding farewell to 
a large and extensive assortment of friends in Mazatlan, was that 
he became involved by some unforseeen mercantile transaction to 
the amount of nine dollars, over and above his comeatable assets ; 
for this dereliction from the paths of honesty, he was offered a 
choice of being half starved in the cared or entirely starved 
out of it, with a musket in his embrace fio-htins; the enemies of the 
republic. Amid so serious an accumulation of horrors, not being 
troubled with heavy baggage, he ensconced himself within the 
Englishman's boat, and was exhibited to us on the memorable 
occasion of his presentation, attired in a white beaver hat and 
trowsers of but one leg. A few words we caught of his opening 



WE TAKE A PRIZE. Ql 



address was to the effect that, — " bress de Lord, he was wunce 
more under de country's flag, and if dem Mexikers kotched him 
agin, dey 'd have to fotch him dead." The following morning 
doctor Barret appeared newly skinned, in old clothes the crew 
had furnished, busy as a demon in the mysteries of the caboose ; 
hinting his capacity for the office by proclaiming that he had been 
" head bottle-washer of a Liverpool liner, with glass nubs on de 
cabin doors ! " The doctor soon became oracle of the schooner, 
and, albeit, tickled our palates with the most savory of messes. 

For a day or two we did nothing but cruise pleasantly around 
the islands, within sight of the Mexican pickets, sometimes land- 
ing on the larger Venaclo, and scooping up, from a natural bowl, 
a few gallons of fresh water that was distilled from the dew, and 
trickled down between crevices of the rocks. The climate, 
though excessively damp, was yet delightfully agreeable, tempered 
by the most regular succession of diurnal sea breezes. It never 
rains out of season, and were it not for the heavy night dews, the 
very birds would famish. Until now we had made no prizes, 
saving quantities of excellent fish jerked out of old Neptune's 
bosom, without going through the forms of condemnation by a 
court of admiralty. Once we made a swoop on a small shallop, 
manned by a couple of Frenchmen, but finding nothing for the 
trouble, and the Patron swearing he would, under cover of 
night, bring us on board something green and eatable, we set him 
at liberty, after whispering in my ear the request that Messieurs 
would discharge a carbine over his boat to preserve his honor ; 
which mild compliment we promised to comply with. All this 
did very well, and we had begun to be quite happy in our inde- 
pendence. We discovered the best fishing rocks, clearest bathing 
beach, and purest pool of water, when the powers above us, kind 



92 - CHAPTER XIV. 



souls, judged we were too far removed from the parental pro- 
tection of their guns ; talked about the possibility of our being 
cut out, and cut up, and so forth ; and the little Rosa was ordered 
to take a nearer station by the Flag-ship. There we lay rolling 
and tumbling in the worst possible sea and humor, within a 
cable's length of the Constance, keeping a bright look-out on 
the town, and a brighter still on a surf chafing rock near our 
counter. Then again, we would run round little Creston, which 
forms a sort of gate-post to the new port, and get in compara- 
tively smooth water, and bathe twice a day ; eat sparingly, per 
force, and do anything to fill up the crevices of indolence ; until 
at last we were again ordered to resume our former position, and 
the Rosa gladly stretched her wings, and the same day dropped 
her anchors at the old birth, under shelter of Venados. 

At the faintest crack of dawn the next morning, a sail was seen 
creeping close along the main land ; in a few seconds we were 
springing away in the whale-boat, most of us sans culottes. The 
chase was a large sloop-rigged launch, with a great big sail, 
swelling to the land wind, and urging the vessel rapidly towards 
the harbor. She had a long start, but then eight ash oars acting 
on a light whale boat will make it skim like a gull over the water. 
We were upon them before they knew it, but on becoming aware 
of our proximity, and finding themselves within a stone's throw of 
the garitd) they raised their voices in shrill notes for assistance 
from the garrison. I felt quite assured, however, that Mexican 
soldiers were not given to early rising. As a last resort the 
Patron put the helm down, hauled aft the sail, with intention of 
running, what I considered to be our property, on the beach. 
This proceeding laid me under the necessity of attracting atten- 
tion, and covering his red shirt with a carbine, I shouted 



CRUISE OF THE ROSITA. 93 

Mir a !— -look out ! He dropped as if actually shot, the sail 
caught aback, the launch fell off from the wind, and in an instant 
we were alongside. By this time the guard on shore were 
getting their eyes open, but before they comprehended the true 
state of the case, the distance was so wide between us, that 
burning powder would have been an utter waste of bullets ; very 
possibly they consoled themselves, as did the Patron and crew, 
with paper cigars. The prize proved to be from La Paz, with 
a cargo of sugar, dried fruits, and cloth ; but what was far more 
valuable in our estimation a few sacks of potatoes, upon which we 
levied tribute, and then sent the vessel to the Flag-ship. We 
had very little reason to plume ourselves upon this exploit, for 
the same afternoon we were placed in a nearly similar predica- 
ment. Whilst beating between the islands and main, with 
baffling light breezes, we became embayed, within a little indenta- 
tion of the coast ; and shortly afterwards a dozen Indian girls ran 
along the beach, making most polite and hospitable offers of 
service, if we chose to disembark. At the same time we could 
not help remarking the heads of numbers of desultory Mexicans, 
peeping out from the under growth that lined the banks. Our 
position was certainly somewhat critical, for the schooner had 
missed stays, and was sagging slowly into the rollers ; and we 
became painfully alive to the fact that the little Rosa would 
inevitably return to her former masters. But, many thanks to 
San Antonio, the breeze freshened, and getting out sweeps, and 
using them with a will, we got the little lady's head off shore ; 
the sails filled, and away we danced across the straits. This 
lucky change in our fortunes was not so well relished by our 
acquaintances on the shore, for immediately a troop of thirteen 
dragoons, with an officer, rode down to the beach, flourishing their 



94 . CHAPTER XIV 



long spears, in what we now thought a very furious and funny 
style, and then galloped and pranced along the shore, to our 
entire satisfaction. We saluted them graciously, by hoisting the 
American ensign over the Mexican, and thus bid them adios. 
From one of the lofty eminences of the islands, which com- 
mands an extensive view of the plains, and suburbs of Mazatlan, 
we perceived, near the scene of our escape, an encampment of 
about two hundred soldiers ; so we resolved to run no more risks 
in future, merely for the sake of being lanced to death for their 
diversion. 

The next day we had another sail, and anchored near the upper 
island, dipped the last pint of fresh water from the basin, and, 
with one of the sailors I took a tramp over the hills — but such a 
parched, burning, suffocating jDronienade can be found no where 
else : here and there were dense, impassable thickets of cactus 
and aloes, and the air reeked with the odor of pelicans and nests 
swarming with young ; while the newly fledged birds bore a strong 
resemblance to slim old gentlemen envelioped in yellow flannel 
morning gowns. On reaching the beach we were glad to plunge 
in a tepid bath, within a clear briny pool, shaded by a straight wall 
of rocks. Much refreshed, we rowed over to the windward 
venado, and having heard that deer had been seen, we started in 
pursuit. This island is less abrupt than its neighbor. On the 
eastern side there is a wide slope, and at the time of our visit it 
was covered with tall dry grass. Leaving a party to haul the 
seine and broil our breakfast, on the beach, we commenced the 
ascent, and seating ourselves on a pile of rocks, about the 
summit, we perceived that the prairie beneath had been set on 
fire, and was flying towards us with the most amazing rapidity 
We quickly gained a rocky acclivity thirty feet above the ground, 



A FALSE ALARM. 95 



and had the satisfaction of seeing the red flames lick the naked 
rocks at our feet, scorch the undergrowth to cinders, and then 
pass like the wind coursing towards the other end of the island, 
leaving us nearly suffocated with smoke, but thankful to have 
escaped the flames. This incident was sufficiently amusing, 
without indulging in the excitement of the chase ; and we retraced 
our steps over the charred and blackened soil to the beach, even 
then rather wanting in appetite for breakfast. The same evening, 
after a delightful surfy swim, and while my pleasant confrere was 
getting the arms recapped, nettings triced up, and all in readiness 
for the night's vigil, preparatory to a sip of cold grog, incited by 
fumes of a cigar, we saw a rocket let off from the main, and being 
presently followed by a long stream of fire, terminating in a bright 
galaxy of stars from the frigate, we supposed it to be intended to 
answer a signal from us for assistance, which proved to be the 
case ; for in a few hours a large cutter, filled with men, came 
dashing alongside to aid us. We were grieved to thwart their 
anticipations of a skrimmage, and not so grateful as we should 
have been for the extreme solicitude exercised for our well-being 
on board, for it was the means next day of telegraphing us down 
to the ship. " Come within hail," said the bunting ; " anchor 
where you can comfortably." So it was up helm, and in the 
dusk, the Rosita crept stealthily under the sombre shade of 
Creston, and let go the killick at the gap beneath the signal- 
tower. We were neither so quiet nor secret in our movements as 
not to attract attention from the town, and shortly we could 
discern boats stealing along the shadows of the bluff, evidently 
reconnoitering. We had no fear of a surprise, for there was 
always three pair of eyes on the look-out, and a man at the mast- 
head. Mr. Earl and myself having no fancy for being overrun 



96 - CHAPTER XIV. 



by mice and cockroaches, snoozed away on deck, always on the 
qui-vive; besides, the arms were constantly in perfect readiness, 
and the men to handle them as determined a set of matelots as 
ever grasped a cutlass ; and notwithstanding we were lying within 
point blank distance of a contemptible three-gun battery, we took 
the precaution to anchor in line of the English frigate, feeling 
assured that our Mexican friends would be exceedingly loth to 
pitch a round shot at us, with the probability of hitting Mr. Bull 
on the horns ; consequently, so far as mere safety was concerned, 
it did not in the least affect our repose. 

The next morning, after capturing old Jack's oyster-boat, 
which was of daily occurrence, in a friendly way, at two dollars 
the hundred, in company with the Correo, Captain Luigi, we 
sailed thirty miles down the coast, but finding the ocean deserted, 
and not so much as a canoe to be seen, we beat back ; the next 
day made our official respects to the frigate, and thence returned 
to Venados. Here ao'ain, in the absence of more agreeable excite- 
ment, we trapped crabs, shot curlew, paddled about the beach, or 
amused ourselves hauling the seine. One afternoon, after taking 
immense quantities of fine fishes, of every size, shape and color, 
one scaly mullet of plethoric caliber, weighing some forty pounds, 
leaped five feet out of the net, clearing seine and floats, and 
terminated the performance by running a joust full tilt at a big 
burly Irishman, breaking the bridge of his nose, and keeling him 
over and over in the water like winkin'. u Take him off, be 
Jasus ! " shouted Paddy, accompanied by fearful struggles in the 
water. It was rather a ludicrous incident to all except the 
sufferer. The same evening we had another visit from the 
oystermen, and the trio were more than usually groggy. Con- 
trary to our advice, Jack determined to face the town once more, 






A SUPPER PARTY. 97 



brave the captain of the port, and have a lark, as he said, off 
the two hundred and more pesos made on board the Yankee 
frigate. Away he went, but, owing to his faculties being some- 
what obscured, and mistaking the channel, the boat got among 
heavy breakers, was capsized, and stove to atoms. One man 
was drowned, old Jack himself water-logged, and drifted on 
shore without a dollar, and the next morning was consigned to 
the cared for trading with the enemy. The remaining com- 
panion was picked up at daylight on a reef of rocks, and taken on 
board our ship ; but he, too, poor fellow, met with a violent 
death eighteen months later. However, unconscious of old Jack's 
misfortunes, it did not prevent us from feasting on his oysters ; 
and the fires of the caboose were soon sparkling under broiling 
mullets, roasted potatoes, and what was to be a chef d'wuvre of 
Doctor Barret — a steaming chowder. We were about to begin a 
series of naval entertainments. Even our little French goblin- 
faced valet, Gashe, devoted his energies for once in his life to the 
matter in hand ; and, by the way, if ever a being on this earth 
was gifted with ubiquity, this youth was he : there was no mis- 
chief dreamed of that he was not an adept in. When not 
attempting some unknown method of loading or priming a carbine 
or pistol, he was perched on the fore-truck, swinging on the 
main-gaff, stealing sugar in the pantry, smoking himself sick with 
a pipe, or playing pranks on the sailors ; and on a certain occa- 
sion, when he tumbled on deck from the fore-cross-trees — a 
height that would nearly have killed a mere mortal — we all 
treated it as such a capital joke, and laughed so unmercifully, 
that the imp sprang to his feet, jumped overboard, and swam 
on shore. 

The little Rosa was lying calmly at anchor — watch and look- 



98 CHAPTER XIV. 



outs at their stations — awnings closely tented, and veiled around 
the quarter-deck — arms and ammunition glittering beneath the 
light from a lantern swinging beneath the main boom, while 
the arrangement for the banquet was spread in two exact rows, 
along the lid of an arm-chest, with camp-stools ranged around. 
Captain Luigi and his mate brought their own spoons and white 
sugar. Our worthy boatswain, Mr. Mills, who came as lord of the 
seine, was our common guest, and was spooned and fed from the 
general contribution. We fell to and did full justice to the feast, 
pleasantly diversified by a narrative from Doctor Barret of his 
dark true-love in Boston, and a pitched battle that suddenly 
arose towards the close of the entertainment, between Monsieur 
Gashe and Captain Luigi's butler, a youthful Swede, called Baron 
Stockholm, who incautiously accused the valet of surreptitiously 
secreting divers table-knives and crockery, belonging to the 
Correo. Thereupon the fight ensued, and when finally concluded, 
much to the regret of the audience, our guests withdrew to a 
canoe, and paddled to their vessel. 

Soon after daylight the next morning, the report of a gun came 
booming from the Commodore. A large ship was lying becalmed 
in the offing ; by the aid of the glass we could see the little bright- 
colored flags talking to the stranger, and presently our number 
was displayed, and the telegraph said, " Prepare to give up the 
schooner." Alas ! shorn of our honors, we slowly hove up the 
anchor — made all sail — spliced the main-brace — and thus ended 
our fortnight's cruise in the Rosita. 



CHAPTER XV 

During the period of our blockade, which lasted but thirty- 
four days, there were no demonstrations made by the authorities of 
Mazatlan, to pronounce against their government, nor any steps 
taken on our side to compel them to do so. Finding there was 
no intention of molesting them, the alarm excited by our arrival 
soon subsided, and with the exception of exchanging a few mus- 
ket shots occasionally, between the boats and shore, everything 
went on as quietly and peacefully as if no hostile force was at 
their gates. The commandant e of Mazatlan was Colonel Telles, 
an Habanero by birth, and withal a brave man. He had pro- 
nounced against Vegas, the President of the province, and the 
troops of the town being devoted to him, he, of course, like all 
other disaffected persons in Mexico, assumed supreme direction of 
affairs, and laid violent hands on all moneys in the custom-house. 
He was described as a pleasant convivial person, keeping quite a 
seraglio of his own, and altogether an eligible acquaintance ; a 
character, of which at a later date, when there was better means 
of judging, we found no cause to change our opinion. Just 
previous to our arrival a messenger reached Mazatlan with in- 
structions for Telles to resign his authority to General Bustamente, 

LOFC 



100 CHAPTER XV. 



who was en route, and charged with full powers from the Mexi- 
can government, to direct the province of Sinaloa. Colonel Telles 
very discreetly incarcerated the emmissary in the cabildo, and 
begged him to inform his master, the General, that there was no 
necessity for disorganizing his ideas about the government of the 
port, as he, Telles, would retain authority so long as he deemed 
proper. It had the desired effect, for there was nothing after- 
wards heard of Bustamente. 

Leaving Mazatlan to be guarded by our consort, we sailed on 
the morning of the third of June, bound once more to Upper 
California. Long before dark, Creston had disappeared be- 
low the horizon, and the ship went calmly pushing her way 
towards the broad ocean. At meridian of the twelfth, the 
sun measured an altitude nearly vertical, our shadows vanished, 
and we resembled that facetious Dutchman, Mr. Peter Schemmell, 
who, it is said, disposed of his to the devil ; at the same time 
while throwing the log, a voracious monster snapped up the log- 
chip, swallowed some fathoms of line, broke it, and went on his 
way unconcernedly, thus verifying the old song : 

*' A shark being on our starboard, boys ! 
For sharks d'ye see don't stand, 
But grapple all they get at, boys ! 
Like sharks they do on land." 

Without any other incident worthy of remark, we continued 
hugging the wind, and describing a great segment of a circle, un- 
til after passing through the prevailing north-easterly trades, we 
attained a latitude of thirty-six, and then being met by the west 
winds, we turned to the coast, and began sailing swiftly towards 
our destination. 



END OF THE BLOCKADE. 101 

The twenty-fifth day from Mazatlan saw us in sight of the red 
woods that fringe the Santa Cruz mountains, and that night as 
the moon sank glimmering down, we let run the cables in the bay 
of Monterey. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Being charged with dispatches for San Francisco, an early 
breakfast and hasty preparations soon placed me astride a dra- 
goon's saddle. Attended by an artillery soldier and six horses for 
escort and cavallada, I drove a sombrero hard on my head, the spur 
yet harder in the ribs of my cavallo, and away we sallied en route. 
The sun had passed the meridian when we reached the Salinas 
plains, and we stopped to change horses at the Molino — a sim- 
ple performance for one who can swing the lasso at any time, 
but for those unacquainted with the mode, it is requisite to drive 
the beasts into the corral, near every rancho, and catch one at 
leisure. I found my friend Anderson as hospitable and convivial 
as ever, and, after a mutual exchange of greetings and drinks, we 
galloped off across the plains. Instead of the smiling grassy deserts, 
gaudy flowers, and narrow canals of spring, I beheld parched 
earth, large patches of wild mustard, and miles of wild oats. Be- 
fore accomplishing many leagues, one of the best little beasts of 
the cavallada eluded the vigilance of my body-guard, and we were 
compelled to abandon him. However, I made a forcible loan of 
a black mare brousing by the road-side — according to the custom 
of the country — and which, indeed, proved an admirable ally to- 
wards the close of our journey. Before entering the gorge that 
leads over the mountains on the opposite side of the Salinas, 



CALIFORNIAN GAMESTERS. 103 

we halted at a rancho — and peeping in at the door of an out- 
building, I discovered two industrious persons playing cards with 
much interest and deliberation — there was no cash up, but they 
assured me that each bean before them, which marked the game, 
was a transferable I U for a bullock. One of the party was 
brother to the last Mexican governor of the territory — who ab- 
sconded to Mazatlan, after showing a feeble and futile resistance 
to Commodore Stockton. He appeared somewhat pleased by the 
information I was able to communicate from his relative, Don Jose 
Castro, but not sufficiently so to interrupt the constant interchange 
of beans between him and his grave companion. We commenced 
ascending the pass that bars the road to the valley of St. Johns, 
and after winding a couple of hours slowly among the hills, gained 
the topmost ridge — which commands a fine triangular view of the 
rich slopes and plains below — and then soon accomplished the 
descent — passing the ruined village and dilapidated mission of San 
Juan, we galloped briskly around. On the road I enticed a mount- 
ed Indian into service by a taste from the brandy bottle, to act as 
vacuero — by no means a -sinecure birth with such a lazy perverse 
set of brutes as we possessed — but I was grieved to find the soldier, 
sent as my guide and defender, had more than he was equal to 
in keeping himself and musket in the saddle. Moreover, he was 
neither amiable nor companionable — a serious crime for a traveler 
— and I was obliged at times, to drive and catch the horses, talk 
for him, and in fact, do all but eat and sleep for him — which last 
accomplishments he enjoyed in perfection, having a constitution 
like refined steel. I am happy to add, out of regard for the army, 
that he deserted shortly afterwards ; although he forgot in his 
hurry to return a silver cup of mine. 

Skirting along the banks of a rapid stream, the shades of night 



J 04 CHAPTER XVI 



began to fall as we drew bridles at a small rancho of one Don 
Herman. Our host, as usual with the race, was making a 
slight repast on a paper cigar : he was very cordial, and good- 
looking, as was also his still handsome old sposa. Like everybody 
I encountered before and since in the interior, they inquired when 
the United States Government would pay for horses and cattle 
taken during the war. Quien sale — who knows — always came to 
my aid, and I drawled it out much to the purpose. Indeed, 
though our Californian Volunteers be good men and true among 
their own kith and kindred, yet their mistaken ideas of what con- 
stituted civilized warfare made them the most unscrupulous of 
freebooters ; and they could be tracked far and near in their 
thirst for their enemy's horses and asses. 

My host had no children, but, like Spanish padres, lots of 
nephews and neices. Amid a detached group of young people, I 
observed a pretty little girl, as I at first supposed a child, nursing 
an infant, but on inquiry I learned that she was the mother at four- 
teen, and had been married two years and a half; a fact which beats 
East India jungles for the precocity of women. Again on the road, 
with the husband of the little baby-mother for guide, who, by the 
way, was a most consummate scamp, incessantly urging me to 
make a short detour of five or six leagues, to dance all night at a 
fandango ; and on taxing him with his gallivanting, and incon- 
stant disposition among the softer sex, he replied, with an air of 
triumph, — 01 yo he engahado muchas ! — Bless you, I 've broken 
the hearts of dozens — although he did not inspire me with being 
so determined a Lothario as he himself believed. 

On we spurred, and urged the jaded steeds some leagues 
further, when we came upon the rancho of Carlos Castro. I was 
half famished from a long day's fast, but there was neither bread 



MURPHY'S RANCHO. 105 



nor edible matter in the hut. At last the buxom mistress asked 
me, Quicre huevos? — have an egg, — caramha ! si amiga ! — 
Why did not you tell me of this before ? She was good enough 
to boil exactly fourteen, hard as bullets, but, what is equally 
incredible, I ate them all without salt ; and then being in good 
humor with all the world, threw a peso in the kind Senora's lap, 
and with a lively adios, turned our horses' heads again towards 
the north star. The moon was riding hio"h, round, and o-leamincr 
as the silver dollar I had just thrown the good lady, flooding the 
whole lovely plain, with its waving fields of yellow oats, and 
magnificent clusters of oaks, in one continuous vista of unex- 
ampled beauty. Five leagues beyond we struck off to the right, 
and after losing our path repeatedly, amid beds of water-courses, 
and bolls of trees, and when I was on the point of giving orders 
for a night bivouac on the sweet and yielding grain, we became 
aware of our proximity to a habitation by the usual barking 
diapason of half an hundred dogs and eurs, and I was not sorry to 
swing my weary limbs from the saddle after a hard ride of eighty 
miles. In a few minutes I was stretched beside the proprietor of 
the rancho, Mr. Murphy, and as kind a specimen of the true 
Milesian as ever took leave of the Hill of Hoath. I knew that by 
the kindly tone of his voice ; but I fell sound asleep, giving the 
old gentleman an account of the battle of Cerro Gordo, and never 
moved until long after sunrise. On awaking, I found myself in a 
dwelling constructed of pickets, driven perpendicularly into the 
ground, the apertures filled in with mud, and all covered by a 
roughly-thatched roof. The enclosure was rather a primitive, 
and I should judge temporary affair, to serve the first year or two 
of an emigrant's home. The dwelling was large enough, how- 
ever, to comprise capacious beds in three of its angles, a couple 
5* 



106 CHAPTER XVI. 



of tables, dreuser, chairs, and a variety of useful articles scattered 
around the earth floor, but all presenting a far neater appearance 
than usually characterised the ranchos of the country. I was not 
left long to conjecture the cause of this tidiness, for whilst lacing 
my moccasins, preparatory to a yawn and shake, by way of 
toilette, I was saluted by a very nice young woman, with the hope 
that I had slept well, and at the same time presented with a large 
bowl of water and clean towel, by the young lady herself, who 
was afterwards introduced to me by her good father, as his 
daughter Ellen. She was tall and well made, a very pleasing 
face, lighted by fine dark grey eyes, black hair, and beautifully 
white teeth. I learned from her own rosy lips that she was the 
first American girl that ever walked over the mighty barrier of 
the Californian sierras, which she accomplished with one of her 
brothers, leaving the wagons, and her friends, to follow on a longer 
route. They were a large family, and most of the children born 
in Canada, thence locating in Missouri, and so on to the farthest 
west in California. There were four stalwart sons, who had all 
more or less been engaged in the last troubles, and had shown the 
natives a choice mould of bullets from their unerring rifles. 
They treated me with the utmost kindness ; and after partaking 
of a capital breakfast of new eggs, hot bread, cream and lomo — 
tenderloin — prepared by their pretty sister, I felt quite equal to 
a short tramp among the hills, particularly upon finding the 
horses well nigh knocked up, and requiring a few hours more 
rest. 

The rancho was situated on the northern verge of the broad 
valley, on the borders of a pure sparkling stream, surrounded in 
every direction, far and near, with golden lakes of wild oats, 
thickly studded and shaded by the oaks. In company with ono 



SALMON AND VENISON. 107 

i>f the boys, Dan, we followed up the course of the stream for a 
mile or more, and I then had the satisfaction of sending a ball 
through and through the shoulders of a large doe. Dragging the 
carcass down to the water, and divesting it of its jacket, we then 
did the same ourselves, and swam and plashed for an hour in the 
little torrent. At the same time, with an extempore rod, twine, 
hook, and a " deviPs darning-needle " for bait, Dan pulled out 
from a limpid pool delightful salmon-trout, full two feet in 
length ; I ate part of one, and a charming fellow he was. Leaving 
our deer to the varmints, we returned to the rancho at noon, 
dined, and again boot and saddle ; struck the road, and six or 
eight leisurely leagues brought us to the settlement of Puebla 
de San Jose. Here I was most civilly received, and entertained 
by an American gentleman, Mr. Ruckle, to whom I bore a letter 
Supper, good old sherry, a cigar, and four hour's sleep ; up 
betimes, and sent the jaded animals on to the Mission of Santa 
Clara for a bite of grass. I remained to break my fast at the 
house of an agreeable white-toothed lady named Pico, and then, 
accompanied by Mr. Ruckle, we hurried along the road which 
traverses the plain, shaded by noble avenues of oaks and willows. 
The Mission stands but a league from the Puebla, presents a 
tolerably flourishing appearance, with a well-preserved church, 
clusters of out-buildings, and well-cultivated gardens. I#is by 
far the most important and respectable settlement of its kind in 
this portion of the territory ; and since the dispersion of the 
priests, and confiscation of church-lands, has still fortunately 
retained a mite of its former wealth and influence. The good 
Padres, a score or more years ago, were pleased to live well ; 
and their well-filled granaries, cultivated grounds, and myriads of 
horses and cattle — in all praise be it said— were the first to induce 



108 . CHAPTER XVI. 



the native Indians, who, in brutish ignorance and social degrada- 
tion are even now but a remove from beasts of the field, to 
devote their time to some useful employment. By these means 
the shrewd Fathers never lacked comfortable houses to shelter 
them, nor raiment to clothe their sleek skins.* 

Tarrying but a few minutes at Santa Clara, and selecting the 
best horses of the cavallada, I parted with Mr. Ruckle and con- 
tinued my journey ; the first fifteen miles was wearisome labor 
with our worn-out beasts, and we stopped for breath at a ranchito 
of a pretty little widow, who did the amiable most refreshingly by 
handing me a dish cf raspberries and cream. Seeing a filthy 
Indian poke them out of a bottle with a stick, occasionally giving 
it a suck, did not enhance the flavor of the fruit. A short league 
beyond, we came to another mud-built rancho, and our horses 
having apparently determined to proceed no farther, accordingly 
tumbled down ; there were half a dozen women and children about 
the hut busily employed in cutting beef in long strips for drying ; 
but they continued their occupation without deigning to cast even 
a glance of sympathy upon our pitiable plight. Indignation getting 
the better of my misfortunes, I kicked off the spurs and marched 

* This Mission, according to Vancouver, was established in 177S, by Franciscans, 
which, with one founded three years previously at San Francisco, were the northern- 
most settlements of any description formed by the court of Spain, on the continental 
shores of north-west America, exclusive of Nootka. Although the Jesuits had 
planted the cross on the lower territory, on the peninsula at Loretto (1697), they had 
not explored the west coast. Of all the numerous voyagers of note who have visited 
and written upon California— Perouse, Vancouver, Kotzbue. Belcher, Wilkes, and 
others— there is not one whose delineations are characterized with so much truth and 
simplicity as Vancouver,— not only in this territory, but in the groups of Polynesia. 
He must have been truly a good man. His intercourse with the untutored savages 
of the Pacific was ever tempered with justice and humanity. He did more than any 
succeeding navigator in stocking the islands with cattle, and his scientific duties were 
executed with exceeding accuracy for the means at his command. The English may 
well be proud of the renown he has shed upon the land of his birth ; and his name will 
be for ever cherished in the Pacific, when the unscrupulous deeds of his great Com- 
mander shall have been forgotten. 



LADIES DRYING BEEF. 109 



bravely up to the mansion ; then, after dodging about under long 
fringes of raw beef, I was suddenly confronted by a stout dame, 
with a mass of meat clutched in one hand, and a dripping knife 
long as her arm in the other ; this savage apparition rather abashed 
me, and I timidly inquired how she did ? She merely gave a sharp 
upward jerk to her chin, with an ireful visage — as much as to say, 
" I'm in excellent preservation, don't bother yourself" — pointing 
to my foundered studs, I politely urged the necessity of procuring 
fresh horses ! u Nb, Se/wr ! no hay ! the horses are all mares, the 
mares are wild — there is no one to catch them" — in other words 
\ — I'll see you in purgatory first. So I called up a little resolu- 
tion, though far from feeling it, and letting the butt of my rifle 
fall heavily to the ground, I said, " Hark ye, my friend, if you 
don't speedily furnish me with beasts I'll make a seizure of that 
fine animal I see saddled in the corral; besides, I'm willing to pay 
liberally." At the word " money" the patrona's features relaxed, 
tw no eres voluntario — she remarked ! — -por dies ! no ! mi alma yo 
soy de la marina, y Catolico ademas ! — I'm a sailor and a good 
Catholic to boot. At this last admission and the sight of a handful 
of bright pesos, the whole party surrounded me — ah ! fan mallei- 
mos son esos mald.it os voluntaries ! Ave Maria ! El cficial no es 
herege — es Christiano — y pa gar a los caballos — ah, what lia'ht- 
fingered gentry were the Volunteers ; but the gentleman is a 
Christian, not a heretic, and going to pay like a trump — they ex- 
claimed. There was still some doubts as to whether I intended to 
pay in effectos or hard tin, and if I could make it convenient to 
liquidate a few outstanding claims which some of my countrymen 
had forgotten to adjust ; but when satisfied on that point a small 
boy ran off to drive in the cavallada. Meanwhile the Sefiora poured 
me out a cup of aguadiente, touched her lips to it, and handed it 



110 CHAPTER XVI. 



to me to quaff. The drove of horses was soon brought up, and 
as a particular favor, the patrona selected her own nag to bear 
me — a small mare and natural pacer that rattled along at a great 
rate without whip or spur — embracing the party, we again mount- 
ed and started off in fine style. The country has the same lovely 
aspect as in the vicinity of San Jose ; great level plains teeming 
in wild grain, and wide-spreading foliage of oaks, chesnuts, maple 
and willows, enclosed between high-swelling hills. In fact the 
country for more than forty leagues of this broad valley is so 
perfectly level that a coach could be driven in any direction 
without serious obstruction ; however, there is one annoyance to 
which horses are subjected, in the multitudes of holes burroughed 
by a species of ground squirrels, very frequently bringing horse 
and rider to their faces. A few leagues rapid travelling brought 
us in sight of the southern arm of the waters of San Francisco, 
and skirting along its shores, by sunset we had left the low coun- 
try, traversed the rugged hills of the sea-girt peninsular, floun- 
dered knee deep in the sandy road, and by nightfall I found myself 
comfortably housed with a generous batchelor friend, Mr. Frank 
Ward, in Yerbabuena. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Remaining but a few days in Yerbabuena, and when on the 
point of taking leave, I met with a brace of navy men, who were 
about to sail up the Bay for a hunt among the hills ; so giving 
orders to the brave courier to join me at Puebla, I embarked with 
my friends one day at noon in a small launch, and a stiff sea-breeze 
soon wafted us forty miles ; then entering a narrow creek, formed 
by high sedgy reeds that sprang from the shallow water, we per- 
formed a tortuous serpentine track, in a labyrinth that fairly 
required Ariadne's clue to thread its mazy windings, actually sail- 
ing sixteen miles to gain three, as the bird flies ; at last we arrived 
at the embarcadera of San Jose, and after a fatiguing walk, at 
dark we came upon a tenement. The house was filled with 
women and clogs, who chattered and cheated, dinned and dunned 
us to such a pitch that we were obliged to seek shelter elsewhere ; 
and accordingly we packed our saddles, blankets and rifles, and at 
about nine o'clock reached the estate of one Don Ignacio de Sylva. 
Our host received us with open arms, prepared a supper of beef 
and tortillas , and in return, we complimented him with strong 
rummers of punch ; his fat spouse joined in the festivities, and 
when the evening was somewhat advanced, a shake-down was 
arranged for us on the floor of the sala, which, fortunately for fleas 
and ourselves, chanced tb be laid with a floor of boards. My 



112 . CHAPTER XVII. 



clumbers were greatly disturbed by being placed in full view of a 
pretty young brunette, whose light from an adjoining apartment 
threw her form in most distinct rays of animated beauty, amusing 
herself the while playing with a baby, whilst her filthy villain of 
a husband regaled himself for an hour or more with a cigarrito. 
My dreams were none of the pleasantest, and I was glad when day 
dawned to light me out of the dwelling, and breathe the pure 
morning air. Como les gusta a los Americanos el fresco, 
said our lazy host, as he sat wrapped in a blanket on a hide, ob- 
serving me take a bath in a little rivulet near by ; se hace dano — ■ 
be the death of him — as he blew the cigar smoke from his lungs 
with a deep sigh ! Notwithstanding his indolence we found him 
a most consummate extortioner, and after throwing every impedi- 
ment in our way, he hired us miserable horses at an extravagant 
rate ; and then mounting, we took the road over a dry, salt, 
marshy country. Passing the mission of St. Josephs, we never 
halted until reaching Puebla, where we were most kindly wel- 
comed by Mr. Ruckle. The town is planted in the midst of the 
great plain, with small streams of water, which is much needed 
elsewhere, coursing on either side. The place contained some 
five hundred inhabitants, the dwellings all of the adobie mud-built 
order of architecture, with but one road between them : for ten 
leagues around the land is most fertile, and the country in many 
respects appears to possess great advantages, and has the repu- 
tation of being the garden of Upper California. We saw quan- 
tities of fruits, peas, peaches, and grapes, very unripe, but the 
natives like them the better green. 

Under no contingency does the natural face of Upper Califor- 
nia appear susceptible of supporting a very large population ; the 
country is hilly and m )untainous ; great dryness prevails during 



SANTA CLARA. 113 



the summers, and occasionally excessive droughts parch up the 
soil for periods of twelve or eighteen months. Only in the plains 
and valleys where streams are to be found, and even those will 
have to be watered by artificial irrigation, does there seem the 
hope of being sufficient tillable land to repay the husbandman and 
afford subsistence to the inhabitants. Sheep and cattle may be 
raised to any extent ; as the gentle slopes, clothed in rich wild 
grasses, afford excellent districts for grazing. 

We breakfasted at the residence of a plain, sensible and indus- 
trious family of emigrants from Virginia, named Campbell ; then 
strolling to the banks of a little rivulet, we took siesta beneath 
the shade of drooping willows, surrounded by groups of brunettas 
washing in the pools near by. In the afternoon my fellow travel- 
lers left me for their hunt among the mountains ; and upon learn- 
ing that Commodore Stockton was in the village, I immediately 
made my homage. He was by long odds the most popular per- 
son in California, and by his enthusiasm, energy, and determina- 
tion, accomplished more, even with the limited means at his com- 
mand, in the acquisition of this valuable territory, than any other 
man before or since, who has planted his foot on the soil. 

The following day was Sunday, the Fourth of July, and more- 
over the fast day of the Patron Saint of California — Nuestra 
Senora del Refugio. Meeting Miss Ellen Murphy and brother 
on the road bound to high mass at the mission, I agreed to accom- 
pany them and return to their rancho in the evening. There 
was a large assemblage in Santa Clara, and we attended church. 
The building was oblong, painted roughly in fresco, and deco- 
rated with a number of coarse paintings, and lots of swallow-tailed, 
green and yellow satin pennants dangling from the ceiling. During 
service an indefatigable cannonier, outside, gave frequent fcux de 



114 ' CHAPTER XVII. 



joie } from a graduated scale of diminutive cul verms — made of 
brass in shape of pewter porter pots, half filled with powder, and 
the charge rammed down with pounded bricks — this with music 
of kettle-drums, cymbals and fiddles made a very respectable din ; 
there were two gentlemanly priests of the order of Saint Francisco, 
whose acquaintance I afterwards made, who preached each a brief 
sermon with eloquence and force. Among the congregation were 
all the belles and dandies of the valley ; the former kneeled de- 
murely on little rugs or bits of carpet in the nave of the church ; 
but the latter were lounging near the doors — their gala costume 
is quite in keeping with Andalusia — and one handsome fellow at 
my side took my eye, as I have no doubt he did that of many a 
brighter. He was dressed in a close-fitting blue cloth jacket; 
sky-blue velvet trowsers, slashed from the thigh down, and jing- 
ling with small filagree silver buttons ; snow-white laced calgoncil- 
losj terminated by nicely stamped and embroidered Iotas; around 
the waist was passed a heavy crimson silk sash; a gay woollen 
serapa hung gracefully over the shoulder ; in one hand a sugar- 
loafed, glazed sombrero, bound with thick silver cords ; and in the 
other, silver spurs of an enormous size, each spike of the rowels 
two inches long : all these bright colors — set off by dark, brilliant 
eyes, jetty black locks, and pliant figure — would have made him 
irresistible anywhere. Turning towards me, he asked, smilingly, 
P or que no se arrodilla vd en Misa ? — Why don't you kneel at 
the Mass? — Tengo pierna de pa!o, quoth I, quite gravely: 
glancing at my pins with much interest, to discover if they were 
of timber, he seemed to relish the joke, and we then s'dled out of 
the church, and became firm friends on the spot. 

After service, I was introduced to many American emigrants, 
mostly Mormons, who, in a free and easy style, had taken posses- 



WE ATTEND MASS. " 115 



sion of the outbuildings and tenements belonging to the Mission ; 
and who, in their contempt for the kind and good Padres, and 
rightful proprietors of the domain, were not only averse to request 
permission to remain for a season, but were hugely indignant at 
the military Governor of California, Colonel Mason, for having 
issued a decree, requiring these lazy gentlemen to leave the lands 
of the Church. Notwithstanding their mutterings, a few weeks 
later they were summarily forced out by the bayonet. 

Whilst we were at mass, a serious mishap occurred to young 
Murphy. A juvenile damsel, whose cognomen was " sugar- 
plumb," and being the only eligible maiden for matrimony, I was 
assured by a hospitable dame, one Mrs. Bennett, " that she was 
the forwardest gall in the Mission," through some silly, childish 
freak, frightened my friend's horse, so that the restive animal 
broke the halter, and made long strides over the plain. A couple 
of drunken Indians started in pursuit, but having a quarrel on the 
way, one plunged his cuchillo up to the haft in his companion's 
thigh, which brought him, deluged in blood, from the saddle. 
We found this poor devil and conveyed him to town ; but of the 
runaway horse and saddle, which was worth half-a-dozen Indian 
lives, or horses, we could learn nor see nothing. We made but 
a short stay in Puebla, and an hour before the sun sank for the 
day, we put foot in stirrup, and a long swinging gallop of seven 
leagues soon carried us to good Mr. Murphy, and a good 
supper. 

The following morning I arose with the lark, took a long pull 
at the milk-pail, volunteered a little surgical advice to an Indian 
vc.cucrO) who being thrown from his horse, was suffering under a 
badly-contused thigh ; he had bound the limb tightly with strands 
of hide, and was doing a new principle of local bleeding by 



116 - CHAPTER XVII. 



puncturing the flesh with sharp stones — a mod i of treatment very 
much in vogue with the natives. Under guidance of Dan, we 
mounted capital horses, and sallied out for a bear-hunt. Enter- 
ing a gentle rise of the hill sides to the southward, we wound 
around the grain-covered slopes for two hours, seeing but a few 
stray deer, and a herd of wild horses ; and although the traces of 
Bruin were everywhere visible, we were on the point of turning our 
steps homeward, when my companion grasped me by the shoul- 
der, pulled me back to the horse's flanks, and whispered, " Thar's 
one ! lie low, Cap tin ! lie low ! " It was a large he bear, walking 
about a little bowl of a valley below us, in the laziest, hoggish 
manner possible, going from side to side, rooting and tearing up 
the earth by wagon loads, in his search for ground-rats — his 
course being directly towards us. We dismounted, hitched 
horses to the lower branches of an oak, a few yards in our rear, 
divested ourselves of all but knives and rifles, taking the pre- 
caution to keep a bullet in our mouths, that they might slip 
easily down the guns in case of emergency, then crossing to the 
edge of the hill, we awaited the grizzly. He came nearly within 
point-blank range, when changing his track, he passed over to 
the other side of the slope. We tightened girths, mounted again, 
and rode around to head him off; when going through the same 
operations as before, we ensconced ourselves behind a giant tree, 
and remained perfectly silent ; presently the monster entered a 
knoll of bushes, within forty yards of us. " Captin," said Dan, 
with his mouth close to my ear, u when I whistle, plug him in the 
head." I brought my rifle down, but at the moment of spring- 
ing the trigger, I nmst confess feeling some inward quakings, 
from all I had heard of their ferocity when wounded, and accord- 
ingly I intimated a request to Dan that he would open the ball. 



WE SHOOT A BEAR. 117 



Giving a low whistle, to attract Bruin's attention, the long barrel 
rested motionless for a second against the tree, and as the beast 
raised his head to listen, Dan let the hammer fall. Maldito ! 
the cap only exploded ; but it startled Bruin, who leaped from the 
shrubbery, and took to his heels. My turn came, and I sent him 
a bullet out of twenty to the pound ; wheeling on his haunches, 
he showed a range of glittering jaws, and not seeing us, made off 
again. We once more got in the saddle, and rushed in pursuit. 
Dan had another glimpse — snapped again — I took a long range, 
and blazed away. Nothing done. On we galloped up the hills, 
and skirting around the summits, we began slowly to descend 
along the brow of a ravine, in which we anticipated finding the 
chase. We had nearly reached the base without perceiving him, 
when Dan, who was behind, shouted, u Mind your eye, Captin ! " 
I heard a sharp, rattling growl, and within thirty feet below 
me was Bruin, licking a stream of blood flowing from his rump. 
He raised up, snarling with rage, with huge paws and claws dis- 
tended ; and when about making for me I fired right between the 
shoulders, and heard the lead strike chug. The moment after 
my horse plunged, took the bit in his teeth, and dashed across the 
valley. After getting him again under control, we tracked the 
bear over the crest of the hill to a small dense thicket, where we 
heard him groaning, and angrily snapping his jaws. Dan swore 
it would be " rank pison " to venture after him, and we both 
thought him hit too hard to crawl out alive. I was extremely 
disappointed in not beholding the last of him, but Dan consoled 
me by promising to pay him a visit with the dogs the following 
day ; which he did, but the beast was half devoured by coyotes 
and gallinazos, so that it was impossible to save the skin. It was 
of a verity the most formidable beast I ever saw outside the bars 



118 ' • CHAPTER XVII. 



of a cage : covered with long grizzly hair, dark upon the spine, 
and inclining to a yellowish tinge along the shoulders. He must 
have weighed fourteen hundred pounds. 

At noon, my escort and cavallada having come up, and all 
ready for the road, fully appreciating the honest kindness of 
the Murphys, I threw myself in the saddle, and departed for 
Monterey. We had but four horses — miserable beasts they 
were — one gave up the ghost before the spur had made a hole in 
his hide, and another was brutally murdered by my illustrious sol- 
dier, who being unable, in his stupidity, to noose him, brought the 
poor animal lifeless to the ground with two ounces of buck-shot 
from the musket. Apart from these annoyances, we had the utmost 
difficulty in urging those we rode into the settlement of San Juan. 
On the road I was favored by a specimen of native rusticity. A 
youthful vacuero accosted me, and walked his cavallo at my side ; 
familiarly placing his hand on the barrel of my rifle, he frankly 
opened a discourse by asking if I had any tobacco ; not fancying 
his impertinence, and thinking I detected a mischievous expression 
in his visage, I quickly replied, with my rifle at half-cock, No 
tengo. Que tienes pues ? he added, with a sneer. Dinero } 
I responded, chinking the coin in my pocket, upon which he 
made a jocose grasp at that receptacle of my treasure, whereupon 
the solid tube of the rifle came in forcible contact with his nose, 
with such a violent collision that the claret spirted over the mane 
of his steed. He reined quickly back — the water standing in his 
eyes — made a demonstration of taking a whirl at me with his 
lasso, but observing the dark hole of my rifle staring him in the 
face, he contented himself by yelling punetero ! and galloped 
away. 

1 found St. Johns a detestable spot — half a score dwellings — 



MISSION OF SAN JUAN. llg 

the church, and long ranges of buildings of the Mission, more 
than half in ruins, and rapidly crumbling to the ground. Thirty 
years before, this abode of the Frayles possessed twenty thousand 
head of horses, three times that number of horned cattle, and a 
thousand Indian serfs to till their broad acres. Meeting the 
intelligent priests who had officiated in Santa Clara, they directed 
me to a house where a lodging was procurable. Crossing the 
deserted plaza, I entered a large ill-constructed adobie dwelling, 
where I was received by a filthy young Gascon, who appeared to 
be mayor domo, in the midst of a houseful of girls and women. 
I lost no time in doing the amiable to my agreeable hostesses, who 
in turn prepared a supper of dirty junks of beef, and still worse 
tortillas. Bifstek a la god dem — fingers before forks — comme 
P usage en Calif or nie, said the Frenchman, as he vigorously com- 
menced operations. But the supper was so unpalatable and 
unclean a meal, that hungry as I was, I fain amused myself the 
while, puffing cigarillos, catching fleas, and drinking execrably 
sour country wine. The feast was barely ended, when a loud 
screeching, and violent commotion among the women attracted 
attention ; and presently there came running towards me an old 
beldame with, Dios de mi alma y es rd medico ? — the Lord pre- 
serve us, are you a doctor. Si ! si ! amiga ! Medico y cirujano 
bueno — Yes, Jack of all trades — I replied, deeming it a fair 
chance of exhibiting a little irresponsible empirical practice. 
Upon inquiring the necessity for my professional abilities being 
called into play, I learned that the entire household had been 
exerting themselves the day and night previous dancing at a 
fandango, and that one of the jovencitas was atacked with fits, 
consequent upon her exertions. The poor girl was lying on the 



120 ' CHAPTER XVII. 



the tiled floor, her head propped up by pillows, with loosa 
dishevelled dress, and rich masses of dark hair strewn over her 
bosom and shoulders, like serpents in Eden. She was moaning 
piteously between the convulsions, and one old Hecate was striving 
to pry her mouth open with an iron spoon, whilst another was 
slapping her hands and yelling all the while, Crescendo, ! Cres- 
cendo ! Kneeling beside the pretty suffering patient, and finding 
her pulse throbbing like a steam-engine, in my ignorance I 
advised bleeding ; but this was out of the question, as nothing 
sharper than a hatchet, jack-knife, or old steel-pen, was to be 
had in the place ; consequently, all left to be done was the appli- 
cation of hot vinegar and blankets. While superintending this 
process, and bathing her forehead, she went off again into 
spasms, clasped her arms around me, and for the space of five 
minutes I was favored with a succession of the warmest em- 
braces ; and, although it may not be generally credited, yet 
I'll venture to assert, that one may be seldom placed in a more 
trying situation, even if a charming girl has fits. Crescendo 
became calmer after this trifling ebullition, and was put to bed 
I was anxious to sit up with the party during the night, 
but the viejo declined my services, and I retired to another 
dormitory, where I slept tolerably well on a table, wrapped 
in a blanket, with holsters for pillow. Arising at daybreak, 
I was concerned to find my horses had disappeared from the 
-corral, 'which I had reason to attribute to the kind offices ot 
the Gascon. However, I paid him a dollar to have them 
caught, and upon bidding adios I gave him a souvenir from the 
thick lash of my riding-whip, which was no doubt serviceable to 
other travellers who have succeeded me. 

We reached the Salinas Plains at noon ; half way across 



RETURN TO MONTEREY. 121 



my horse dropped with me into a ditch, so I scrambled out, 
packed saddle and duds on my own back, gained the molino, 
procured a Spanish brute from the proprietor thereof, and the 
same night arrived in Monterey. I regret to add, this was my 
last interview with Anderson — he was assassinated a few months 
later, by a person named Callagan. 
6 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

The latter part of July found the frigate again moored off 
Yerbabuena, in the waters of San Francisco. A number of us 
had long anticipated the pleasure of a trip to the northward ; and 
a fine prize schooner, the Julia, being unemployed, she was ac- 
cordingly made ready, and, early one morning, our party, with a 
few trifling kits, were all snugly stowed away on board. With the 
broad pennant fluttering at the main, and all sails spread, we soon 
lost sight of the anchorage. The Julia's cabin had four berths suffi- 
ciently capacious for grown people, and two others, which were, in 
reality, intended for 'minors, or any adult under three feet in 
length ; a settee ran crosswise, and tha intermediate space filled in 
with a cozy table. Our mess amounted to seven, and the caterer 
had been careful to provide servants and cooks, cold hams and 
tongues, potted oysters and biscuits, silver-topped bottles of ale 
and stout, cases of pale sherry, bundles of havannas, and what 
with a haunch or two of venison, and lots of edibles, indiscrim- 
ately packed in huge baskets, we counted upon a sufficiency of 
viveres to allay thirst and famine for a week to come. Indeed, 
there's nothing answers so well as a profusion of " provender," to 
promote good humor and agreeable conversation. Major Dalgetty 
understood this practically and philosophically. Guitars, pretty 
spirituelle women, babbling brooks and shady lawns, with a bowl 



WATERS OF SAX FRANCISCO. 123 

of chicken salad, do very well when one goes a picknicking in 
an omnibus, or canal boat ; but when it is necessary to rough it 
a bit in open air and unknown regions, we require something more 
substantial. 

Passing through the inner straits, above Angel Island, we enter- 
ed the bay of San Pablo, or Sinoma, and, with a pleasant breeze, 
steered for the upper shores. It is a vast, circular sheet of water, 
twelve miles in diameter, fenced in from the ocean, on one side, 
by a rim of broken hills, closely abutting upon the bay ; while to 
the north and east, the land trends easily away, in less abrupt ele- 
vations, into the interior, leaving a base of wide, fertile plains and 
valleys, verging upon the shores. 

A noble ship channel takes the direction of the eastern coast, 
leading into the straits of Carquinez, an opening quite similar to 
the outer passage from the sea. Our course lay in an opposite 
point, and, turning to the left, we sailed over shallower depths, 
until late in the afternoon, when, finding there was no water to 
spare betwixt the keel and the bottom, we dropt anchor, two 
miles from the land. The barge was presently manned, and 
leaving our butler, Mr. Bill Moulden, to exercise his care and 
corkscrew over the comestibles, we rowed to the entrance of a 
creek, where, after winding about in the serpentine tracks of an 
inlet for, at the least, ten miles, we at last jumped on shore at the 
euibarcadera of Sinoma. The gentleman to whom we were bound, 
not being apprised of our coming, but two horses were to be pro- 
cured, and the rest of us trudged along on foot. The road was 
perfectly level, walking good, and, with sparkling stars for lanterns, 
in an hour we found ourselves at the residence of General Vallejo, 
were ushered through a spacious jporte cocker , into a large sala, 
and graciously received by the lady of the mansion, whose hus- 



124 - CHAPTER XVIII. 



band chanced to be absent on important business. It may be as 
well to state here, that Vallejo had been the most important per- 
sonage in Upper California, both from family influence, intelli- 
gence and wealth. On the commencement of the war, notwith- 
standing the annoyance he had experienced from the Bear party, 
he espoused the cause of the United States ; and, being blessed 
with a clear head and much discernment, saw at a glance the 
benefit derivable for California by a connection with a staunch Re- 
public, in preference to letting the territory languish under the mis- 
rule of Mexico, or, perhaps, at some future period, to maintain the 
needy soldiery of a foreign monarchy. I believe myself within 
the mark, in estimating the General's landed property at one hun- 
dred square leagues, embracing much of the best agricultural and 
grazing districts in the country, with many of the most eligible 
sites for commercial ports on the waters of San Francisco. The 
little Pueblo of Sinoma stands with its back resting against a ridge 
of high hills, shutting in, on one side, a lovely plain, near fifty 
miles in extent, and presenting much the same pleasing aspect of 
golden lakes of wild oats and luxuriant oaks, as grace the vale 
of Santa Clara. The principal dwellings and barracks form three 
sections of a square — all, except one edifice, owned and oc- 
cupied by the relations and family of our absent host. His resi- 
dence was the largest — as usual, built of adobies — two hundred feet 
long, of two stories, having a tier of balconies above. The apart- 
ments we occupied below were well furnished, walls papered, 
books and cases, prints and mirrors in profusion. We were some- 
what surprised, not believing so much refinement, in that which is 
termed modern civilization, existed in the territory. The Seiiora 
herself, assisted by a well-behaved youth, did the honors of the 
supper table ; and after we had made a hearty meal, she retired 



VILLAGE OF SIXOMA. 125 

and left us to the enjoyment of chateau margaux and cigars. 
During supper we were complimented by a serenade, sung by a 
number of Russians and Germans, whose harmonious chorus, and 
songs of " Fader land," almost carried us away to the Rhine. We 
sought the music room, shortly after, where the little daughters 
of our entertainers were performing on the piano. They had been 
properly instructed, and performed remarkably well; besides, 
they were pretty, becomingly attired, and, what is still more com- 
mendable, exceedingly well bred. Towards midnight we said 
buenas nodies, and sought our beds, where, if we had been pre- 
viously a little astonished to find ourselves surrounded with ele- 
gance, we soon had reason to return to realities, by the aid of the 
pincer-like stings of the curse of the country, pid-gas, who, find- 
ing us tender and palatable, hopped about us for the remainder of 
the night. To evade their sharp bites, I tried to smoke myself 
insensible, and would no doubt have succeeded in deluding myself 
into slumber, had not my repose been again interrupted by a loud 
altercation between the Admiral's aid-de-camp and Captain Sway- 
back, of the dragoons, who chanced to be billetted together. 
The former, through abstraction, had swathed himself, like to an 
Egyptian mummy, in ail the clothes, and persisted in occupying 
the centre of the bed ; moreover, hinting a disinclination to pass 
the night with any gentleman perfumed with tobacco. Upon this, 
the captain became jocosely indignant ; and although admitting 
that, in his varied hardships and travels, he had been necessitated 
to bivouac many a time under worse auspices, yet he still had a 
mortal antipathy to share his pillow with a man ; so, he betook 
himself to the floor, where, with blanket, an inverted chair for 
pillow, and a brilliant cigar illumining either corner of his mouth, 
he rendered the room dense with smoke until daylight. 



126 CHAPTER XVIII. 



Early on the morrow we took a pleasant ramble about the vil- 
lage, and were individually hugged by a tame grizzly cub, who 
was altogether more ardent in his affectionate embraces than our 
recent acquaintance required — thence to breakfast on the accus- 
tomed clla podrida, which is a stereotyped mess everywhere with 
Spaniards and their descendants — though at times differently 
prepared — here it was flanked by frijoles. The meal finished, 
horses were standing, ready caparisoned, at the door, and whilst 
my friends amused themselves to their fancy, I seized a rifle, and 
in company with a young American, started on a hunt. We had 
ridden a league over the valley, when we perceived a small herd 
of antelopes ; but they descried us, too, a long way off, and not 
without much trouble and hard riding, did I succeed in striking 
one with a bullet, flying, as I may say ; for never before had I 
beheld such nimble heels. Another was wounded, also, but, with 
his companions, reached the highlands and escaped. The first 
had his fore leg nearly severed from his shoulder, but, notwith- 
standing it traversed around in his flight like a wheel, he still 
ran good four leagues before we approached near enough to kill 
him. We soon packed the meat on a horse, which is done by 
removing the entrails, breaking the back bone, and doubling the 
animal, horns and tail ; then it is secured to the saddle. Two 
may be carried this way ; but wo to the hunter, if the sharp, hard 
hoofs happen to prick his horse, the probability being that the 
rider will describe a summerset. Highly pleased with the ex- 
ploit, we sent our prize to the emharcadera. The antelope abounds 
in great numbers in the vicinity of Sinoma. They pass more 
evenly over the ground than deer ; are far swifter, and extremely 
shy. We all reassembled at the Puebla in good time and condi- 
tion for dinner, which passed pleasantly, and then taking leave of 



WE VISIT BENECIA. i 2 j 



our handsome, hospitable hostess, who expressed much regret at 
the absence of Don Guadalupe, her husband, we mounted fresh 
horses and turned our backs on the little village of Sinoma, all 
highly pleased with the visit. Embarking again at the head of the 
creek, with a strong favoring tide, we reached our floating domi- 
cil at dark. Fatigue of the day made heavy eyelids, and supper 
was barely despatched, before sleep shrouded us in the land of 
dreams. 

Weighing at sunrise the next day, with light winds, and 
charming weather, we bore away to the Carquinez Straits. This 
passage lies on the eastern face of San Pablo ; it may be a mile 
and a half wide, and we found a broad ship channel, ranging from 
twelve to five fathoms soundings, all the way to the head of the 
straits, where we anchored the Julia, in twenty-fiv3 feet water, 
within a bound of the bank. Our position was at the site of an 
embryo city, called Benecia. The selection was made by Doctor 
Semple, and the land owned by Vallejo, in compliment to whose 
wife the place was named. In point of natural advantages, I 
know of no more eligible situation : the country rises in gentle 
sweeping undulations for some miles, terminating quite around by 
a lofty amphitheatre of hills ; the climate is equable and salu- 
brious, with a rich and fertile soil, and plenty of timber, and it is 
said coal of a superior quality exists in the vicinity. At the time 
of our visit a mania was raging in California about lands, and 
lots, and although nothing had been attempted in Benecia, 
except a very pretty plan on paper, and three miserable little 
board sheds, with a flat boat to ferry travellers across the straits ; 
yet from being the highest navigable point, where large vessels 
can conveniently discharge or load from the main rivers of the 
San Francisco, that pour into the shoal Bay of Sossun, we 



128 CHAPTER XVIII. 



predicted that eventually Yerbabuena might play a relative 
Sandy Hook to a New York ; then, nothing was known of the El 
Dorado fifty miles above : had we been aware of it we might have 
taken the little city off the Doctor's hands ; for now, with its 
manifest advantages, and enormous influx of emigration flowing 
towards California, there can be no bounds placed upon its 
progress. 

We made a hunting trio during the day, crossed to the oppo- 
site shore, but not being acquainted with the haunts of game, and 
being a little timid about the prospect of meeting a grizzly, we 
did not venture into the interior ; and after a long and arduous 
tramp over the steep spurs of heights that entrenched boldly 
upon the straits, we saw no opportunity for firing our rifles, being 
only repaid by a treat of delicious melons found at an isolated 
rancho. 

At nine the following morning we bid adieu to Benecia, with 
the credit of having been the largest vessel, and only one of war, 
that had ever floated so far on the broad bosom of San Francisco. 
With this plume in our castors we were obliged to be content, as 
the Admiral could not spare time to explore further. With an 
ebb tide, and prevalent west wind, we tacked boldly from side to 
side ; before noon had cleared the straits, and entering a narrow 
channel that borders on the Tulares Valley, we ran between Mares 
Island and the main, and again came to anchor. Here we 
tarried all day, in hopes of filling the Julia with elk ; but although 
the low banks and extensive fields of reeds are famed as the 
resort of immense bands, yet, for a wonder, there was not a four- 
legged animal to be seen. Fowling-pieces, however, came into 
requisition, and we filled our bags with mallard, curlew, and 
plover ; these tit bits came in seasonably, for the antelope, which 



RETURN OF THE JULIA 129 

by the way proved most excellent, was literally on his last 
leg. When the ebb tide again made, at night, we lifted the 
anchor once more, homeward bound, and the next afternoon were 
again comfortably kicking heels under the mess mahogany of the 
frigate. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

On the 26th of July, 1847, the Columbus, seventy-four, bear- 
ing the pennant of Commodore Biddle, sailed from San Francisco 
for the United States, leaving the flag of the Commander-in- 
Chief, flying on board the razee Independence. By this time 
most of the ships composing the squadron had either rendezvouzed 
in Monterey or Yerbabuena. Central and Upper California 
had become perfectly tranquil, with the exception of some trifling 
difficulties which had arisen in San Diego, between the New 
York Volunteers and the natives. But these were speedily 
settled ; and a sufficient force being now ready for service, the 
preparations, which had already been too long delayed, were 
actively begun for the purpose of attacking the Mexican coast. 
The crews of the different vessels were constantly exercised in 
companies and battalions for service on land : they were taught to 
march and counter-march, in line, platoons, and column ; to 
throw themselves into squares ; were thoroughly instructed in the 
manual drill ; and although they occasionally knocked their broad- 
brimmed tarpaulins off at " Shoulder arms," yet upon the whole 
they did extremely well for sailors, and on the weekly field-days 
on shore, went through the evolutions in a very creditable 
manner. 
• Early in September we returned to Monterey. The bright 



THE REVEREND ALCALDE. 131 



green verdure that clothed the hill sides, the beautiful mantle of 
green and flowers of spring, had long since paled beneath the 
blaze of summer. No rain had fallen ; the clear rills that 
murmured in every gully were absorbed by the parched earth. 
The broad lagoons near the beach were rapidly receding, and 
mud had been converted into dust. And although vandals were 
making the axe resound in murderous Mows upon the picturesque 
bolls of fine trees that decked the slopes, there was still sufficient 
delight for the eye to rest upon in the lovely undulating landscape 
encircling the shores of the bay. 

Monterey was rapidly increasing, and houses of a more sub- 
stantial build than the paper-like structures of Yerbabuena, 
were rising in the streets. The fort on the hill was nearly com- 
pleted, mounting a numerous battery of long twenty-fours ; and 
in the rear were stone magazines, barracks, and quarters ; so that 
the natives, if they entertained doubts before, were now con- 
vinced that their invaders had resolved to remain. A salutary 
system of police had also been established in the town — the 
Reverend Alcalde was a terror to evil doers. Woe betide the 
pockets of those who slaughtered cattle at their door-steps, or the 
rollicking gentry vaulting at full speed through the streets, or 
drunken Indians, or quiet persons in back rooms, amusing them- 
selves at monte — for down came that ivory-headed cane — " Alcalde 
de Monterey" — like a talisman; and with a pleasant smile he 
would sweep the white and yellow dross into his capacious 
pockets. Others were mulcted in damages, or made to quarry 
stone for the school-house ; but, whether native or foreigner, the 
rod fell impartially on their pockets, and all, more or less, con- 
tributed towards the new Californian college. These measures 
were not relished at first by the natives, but in the end they dis- 



132 ' CHAPTER XIX. 



cerned the wisdom of a prompt and just administration of the 
laws, and became devoted admirers of the indefatigable Alcalde. 

About this time a more serious event occurred. Two Indians 
were charged with the murder of a foreigner ; a woman, who 
was their accomplice, betrayed them ; they were tried by 
jury, selected equally from natives and strangers ; the crime 
was clearly and indubitably proved — the offenders were con- 
demned to be hung. The punishment was unknown in Cali- 
fornia, and a large concourse of persons assembled around the 
gallows, which was erected within sight of the town. Attended 
by two priests, the criminals, who seemed perfectly indifferent to 
their fate — in fact many thought rather pleased at being the 
observed of all observers — were placed beneath the beam, and the 
cords finally adjusted by the pious fathers. At the signal, down 
came the platform, and with it the murderers ; but, by some unac- 
countable fatality, both knots slipped, and with the exception of 
being a little " choky" in the face, they sustained no injury. In 
a moment one of the priests mounted a horse, and galloped to the 
Governor's, urging a reprieve on the plea of a special dispen- 
sation of Providence — that the criminals had been hung once, 
and were consequently entitled to pardon. The philanthropic 
padre might better have saved his ride and breath, for Colonel 
Mason informed him, that in case these villains were not executed, 
Providence might interfere with the ropes for ever after, and 
moreover the sentence was to hang them until dead. Meanwhile 
the sheriff on the ground had replaced the halters with unslip- 
pable hitches, as he observed that they would receive " particular 
fits ;" and soon after they were properly worked off, and swung, 
dangling, lifeless figures ; within their timber frame. This event 
generated a feeling of bitter hostility on the part of the Catholic 



HANGING INDIANS. 133 



clergy towards the local government, although generally conceded 
by the Catholics themselves to be entirely uncalled for and unrea- 
sonable. 

On Saturday evenings, crowds of these degraded Indians, of 
both sexes, after laboring during the week, and feeding on locusts 
or grasshoppers, were accustomed to congregate on the outskirts 
of the town, where, with gaming and arguadiente, they were 
enabled to remain torpid all the following day. Their favorite 
amusement was a game called escondido — hide and seek — played 
with little sticks ; and their skill was exerted by trying to discover in 
whose hands they were : seating themselves on the ground, around 
a huge blazing fire, separate parties were ranged on opposite sides ; 
then beginning a low, wild chaunt, moving their bodies to and fro, 
groping with their hands within the serapas before them, until the 
perspiration starts in streams down their naked sides, after a 
strange succession of deep, harsh, gutteral grunts and aspirations, 
they suddenly terminate their exertions by giving a sharp yell, and 
pointing to one of the opposite party, who, if rightly detected, 
pays forfeit. When one set of players becomes exhausted, others 
supply their places, and thus they keep it up the live-long night. 

Among the Calif ornians an agreeable pastime, much in vogue, 
is the merendar — Anglice, pic-nic. They are usually given 
on the patron saint's day of some favorite senora or seflorita, by 
their admirers. A secluded, pleasant spot is selected a few miles 
away from the presidio, where provisions, wine and music are col- 
lected beforehand ; then each cavalier, with arm thrown affection- 
ately around his sweetheart, on the saddle before him, seeks the 
rendezvous. Guitars and choral accompaniments soon are heard, 
and the merenda begins, and is kept up with the greatest possible 
fun and spirit : dancing, frolicking, drinking and love-making. 



134 - CHAPTER XIX. 



There are two or three singular dances of the country : one, called 
the Son, where a gentleman commences, by going through a solo 
part, to quick, rattling music, then waving a handkerchief to a 
damsel, who either pays the same compliment to another favored 
swain, or merely goes through a few steps, without relieving the 
first comer, who, in turn, is obliged to continue the performance 
until a lady takes pity for him. It not unfrequently happens, 
that when a particularly graceful girl is on the floor, making her 
little feet rapidly pat the ground, like castanets, to the inspiriting 
music, that some enthusiastic novio will place his sombrero on 
her head, which can never be reclaimed without a handsome 
present in exchange. But, Heaven help us ! the pranks and mis- 
chief indulged in on the return home ; the tricks and tumbles, 
laughter and merriment; even the horses appear to enter into 
the play, and when a cluster of gay lads and lassies have jostled 
one another from the saddles, the waggish animals, fully appre- 
ciating the joke, stop of their own accord. The last affair of this 
kind I attended, was given by the bast-hearted little fellow in the 
territory ; and I am prepared to prove it — Senor Verde — he was 
an universal favorite, as well with old as young ; for he was at 
different times taking a short pasear on every horse, laughing with 
the madres, and kissing the shy donc,ellas — vol game dios — but I 
had work in getting him into Monterey that night, for my cavallo 
carried weight — besides a big overgrown dame and myself, Verde 
hung on to the tail. 

We were many weeks in Monterey, and I passed a large portion 
of leisure time either hunting with Juaquinito, or chatting and 
smoking during the afternoons with our excellent friends, the 
army men, at the Fort. But at last we began to tire of foggy 
mornings, damp nights, tough beef, lounging under the Consul's 



SAILOR SOLDIERS. I35 

piazza, sweltering dust, catching fleas, playing monte, and fandan- 
gos at Carmelo. The time was drawing near for our departure. 
The ships were provisioned and ready for service. Jack had 
become quite a soldier, and we consoled ourselves with the pros- 
pective excitement of a descent upon the Mexican coast. 



CHAPTER XX. 

We sailed from Monterey on the 16th of October — rounded 
Point Pinos, and, bidding a final adieu to Upper California, bore 
away to the southward. On the 25th, we found ourselves near 
Cape San 'Lucas, where, for three blessed days, we lay becalmed, 
all hands existing, as it were, in a warm bath of their own providing. 
The morning of the fourth, there came a breeze, and with it, un- 
der a cloud of canvas, one of our frigates, with the intelligence 
that she had bombarded Guaymas, and blown up the fortifications. 
No resistance had been made, and a corvette was left to guard a 
deserted town. It was certainly a severe instance of patriotism, 
where the Mexicans left their homes and property, choosiug a 
precarious existence among the sterile mountains, rather than cry 
peccavi! to the Yankee banner. 

Anchoring at San Jose, we learned that trouble was brewing on 
the Peninsula, and that some hundreds of men in arms were as- 
sembled at Todos Santos, a place on the seaside of Lower Califor- 
nia, fifty miles distant. Nothing, certainly, was more preposter- 
ous than the forgetful policy of our Government, in expecting to 
hold two thousand miles of coast with a handful of men. The 
principal points on the Peninsula had already been occupied tran- 
siently by our forces ; but notwithstanding proclamations had been 
issued, declaring the " Calif ornias unalterably * annexed to the 



WE VISIT ALCALDES. 137 



United States, and that very many of the natives had warmly 
espoused our protection ; yet the very moment the ships or force 
were withdrawn from a place, the disaffected patriots — and they 
were patriots — immediately sprang up, issued pronunciamentoSj 
threatened foreign residents, and their own countrymen, who had 
befriended the invaders. As a consequence, the whole lower 
portion of the territory and the Peninsula were kept in a constant 
state of excitement and inquietude. Nor could we have reasona- 
bly expected aught else, without a respectable force to overawe 
them. 

The second evening after our arrival, a small mounted party, 
of thirty muskets, from the flag ship, was ordered into the interior, 
to disperse the insurrectionists at Todos Santos. They had not 
been absent half a dozen hours, when a report was circulated, that 
a body of the enemy were lying in ambuscade on the route, to 
attack them. A great commotion ensued, and I was selected to 
proceed to the Mission and inquire into the truth of the rumor. 
Attended by our marine postmaster Richie, we procured horses 
on the beach, and after sliding over loose stones, winding around 
precipices, until quite dizzy at the narrow bridle paths, running 
full as much risk in losing our eyes by thorns of aloe or cactus, 
as our necks, in the darkness, by the precarious foothold of the 
beasts, we reached San Jose at midnight, and presented ourselves 
before the alcaldes. We found these worthies and their wives 
deeply immersed in monte and cigarillos. They were ignorant, as 
alcaldes universally are, of any treasonable rumors ; but, on citing 
an old Indian woman and her son, who were the divining magi- 
cians of the place, we learned that, in truth, a number of evil- 
minded persons had been in town, tampering with those more 
peaceably disposed, in hopes of raising a sufficient force to cut 



138 CHAPTER XX. 



our little band to pieces. Upon concluding our inquisitorial pro- 
ceedings, we returned to the ship. The next morning, news was 
"brought from La Paz, a post some distance up the Gulf, and 
recently occupied by a company of the New York regiment under 
Lt. Col. Burton, that the disaffection had extended in every 
direction, and the Mexicans were resolved to make a last struggle 
for lost ground on the Peninsula. The same night we received 
more violente eztraordinarios — break-neck expresses — stating 
that the little town near us was about to be invaded by the insur- 
gents. There was so much truth in this, that a number of officers 
from the ships took to the road, " accoutred as they were," and a 
very flimsy toilet some of them appeared in, on their five mile 
flight to the watering beach. Boats were armed, and companies 
detailed for service ; but another violent extraordinary arrived, 
and for the time we remained passive. The next evening, a de- 
tachment of five-and-twenty marines left the ship for shore. We 
were a long time disembarking, as the surf was breaking ten feet 
high upon the open beach. Skirting along thickets around the 
town, we marched up a valley, through a deep sandy road, for 
more than two leagues, before reaching our destination. It was 
a little hamlet, called cerrillos, of miserable ranchos, lying upon 
the side of a hill, where we had hopes of meeting a party of guer- 
rillas. Our arrangements were quickly made — men posted — 
pieces cocked — the houses summoned successively — but, alas ! 
for our anticipations of a skrimmage, the birds had flown some 
hours before, leaving but a few old people and children in the 
place. I was sadly disappointed, for I had an extremely perilous 
path to explore in getting to my station — no more nor less than 
charging, full leap, through a large corral of sheep and cattle — 
with half a dozen fixed bayonets close at my heels — the bullocks 



WE ARE OFFERED A BABY. 139 



jumping right and left, in great affright, and I expecting every 
instant some rampant bull ahead to toss me into the air, or a 
sharp bayonet to stick me in the rear ; nor did I feel relieved, , 
until the muzzle of my carbine struck the door of the rancho, and 
I found breath to cry, halt! to the party. After a deal of 
praying and screeching, from the shrill throats of women and 
children, the door fell, and, by the glare of a flickering torch, an 
old lady tremblingly approached, with a baby in each arm, crying, 
Somos pobres, senor, ave purissima ! no hay mas que esos ! tome 
vd un nihOy por el amor de Dios ? — we 're poor, but take a baby, 
for the love of God. We generously declined the good woman's 
kindness, and succeeded in allaying her alarm, by the assurance 
that we were in search of men, and not infants. Truly, it has a 
tendency to jar one's nerves, this storming a person's house with 
armed men in the dead of the night. 

We had a dreadfully fatiguing march back, and had there not 
been many rivulets to quench thirst, some of us would have been 
thoroughly exhausted. Entering the town at eight o'clock, 
we learned with surprise, that the friends whom we went in 
search of had been making night hideous in the village itself, and 
only decamped towards daylight on our approach. 

A few days succeeding our arrival, the ships were busily em- 
ployed watering. In the southern arm of the bay is a small 
cove, partially sheltered from heavy surf by a jutting reef of 
rocks, where, during the rainy season, is the mouth of a moun- 
tain-torrent ; then, the stream was not visible, but on digging "a 
little way below the sandy bed, pure delightful water bubbled up, 
filtered through miles of coarse gravel. The large boats anchored 
a few yards from the strand, and the men amused themselves by 
swimming the casks off when filled. Nearly the whole population 



140 ' CHAPTER XX. 



of the Mission assembled there at daylight, offering fruit, vegetables, 
and other articles for traffic. Lots of girly and women were there, 
all far better dressed, and more comely than those we had been 
gazing upon so long in Upper California. I devoted my time to 
an old lady and two daughters, who had pitched a tent near by, 
and opened a shop for the sale of -milk and eggs. Of the two 
damsels my adoration was the younger — Eugenia — a charming 
little brunette, who shared my dinner, and, by way of a frolic, 
cunningly squeezed lime-juice in my mouth when asleep. This 
style of existence quite enchanted us ; and what with sucking 
oranges, dozing in the welcome shade, and bathing half the time 
in the water, — we fancied it somewhat resembled the pleasant 
life in the South Sea Islands. 

One of the roads, from the watering ravine to San Jose, had 
much the appearance of an alley through a flower-garden : the 
foliage blazing in bloom, with a plentiful display of blossoming 
aloes and cactus, shooting up into the air like Grecian columns ; 
many of the latter twenty inches in diameter. The town stands 
in a pretty valley, with red, sterile mountains toppling around it. 
One broad street courses between two rows of cane and mud-built 
dwellings, thatched with straw, having shady verandahs in front, 
constructed of frameworks of canes and leaves, answering very 
well to screen the burning rays of the sun, which sheds light and 
heat, with the force of a compound blow-pipe. At the upper end 
of the avenue, standing on a slight, though abrupt, elevation from 
the valley behind, was the cuartel^ a small building, which at a 
later period was the scene of a gallant stand and siege, where a 
mere handful of our sailors and marines bravely repulsed twenty 
times their number of Mexicans. 

Within sight of the village is a shallow, rapid brook, which 



LIFE IN SAN JOSE. 14] 



serves to irrigate many well-tilled plantations about the suburbs. 
The people were kind, and particularly hospitable, always wel- 
coming us with the utmost cordiality. We usually dined at the 
house of an old Chinaman, who was a miracle of a cook, and 
dished us up beneath the shade — plover, curlew, wild ducks, and 
olives without stint — with which, and chatting, smoking, lounging 
from house to house, and siesta, we got through the hours plea- 
santly. On one afternoon, having somewhat soiled my outer 
man, in leaping into a puddle instead of over it, my newly- 
discovered sweetheart washed my trowsers and shirt, whilst I 
dozed away on a low cot frame, upon which was tightly drawn a 
tanned sheet of leather — and a capital, cool, comfortable appa- 
ratus it is in warm weather. We generally returned to the ships by 
night, as the unsettled state of the neighboring country rendered 
it impossible to remain ; so, after rewarding pretty Eugenia with 
my handkerchief for her trouble, I turned my steps for the last 
time on San Jose. 

The expedition that started for Todos Santos on our arrival, 
and for which serious uneasiness was beginning to be entertained, 
got safely back on the seventh day. They found a dull, barren 
region to traverse, and were not repaid by a sight of the guer- 
rillas, who had all decamped for a rallying point near La Paz. 

In consequence of the earnest solicitations made by the simple 
inhabitants of San Jose, for a small force to protect them from 
their brethren in arms, who were not so favorably disposed 
towards the North Americans, it was deemed advisable to comply 
with the request, and a detachment of twenty marines, a nine- 
pounder carronade, with four officers, under command of Lieut. 
Charles Heywood, U. S. N., were detailed for the service, and the 
next day occupied the town. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Mazatlan lies in latitude 23° 12 N'. verging on the tropic, 
flanked by a broad belt, ten leagues wide, of the Tier r a Calient e y 
with the lofty mountains that support the elevated terraces and 
grand plateau of the interior plainly visible in the background. 
The town is built upon a triangular space formed by three 
hills at the angles, the apex a bluff promontory, extending 
seaward, and beyond two small islets, barely divided from the 
frowning helmet of Crest on. These salient points form together 
a bold, rocky partition, which with another parallel barrier to the 
eastward, breaks off the ocean swell, sufficiently to admit of a 
secure anchorage from all but southerly winds. This is called 
the New Port. Right and left of the town are curving sandy 
beaches ; the one abreast the New Port, protected by a sand-bar, 
that incloses a safe haven for small vessels ; then further, a wide 
ester o j or inlet, runs inland, following the bend of the coast for 
sixty miles to the southward ; while one channel branches away 
to the west, encircles Mazatlan, and passing some miles in a line 
with the sea, is only prevented from again meeting the ocean by 
a narrow strip of marsh and sand. To the right of the town 
commences a small patch of sand called Olas Altas, whereon 
some of the best buildings are situated ; beyond is an abrupt 
dome-like elevation ; and then farther still, is a narrow inden- 



DEMONSTRATIONS BEFORE MAZATLAN. 143 



tation, formerly used as the Puerto Viejo ; when the beach con- 
tinues in a gentle curve, as far as the eye can reach, up the gulf, 
to the northward 

In the year 1830, Mazatlan was a miserable Indian fishing 
village ; but owing to its advantageous position in affording a 
better harbor, and fresh water, than existed for large vessels 
north of Acapulco — its facilities for communication with, the rich 
mining districts of Zacatecas, Durango and Culiacan, besides the 
market opened in the populous provinces bordering upon the 
Pacific, it soon increased in magnitude to a fine thriving little 
city of ten thousand inhabitants, and became the most important 
commercial point on the continent north of the equator. 

Sailing from the Bay of San Jose, in company with the 
frigate Congress, and corvette Cyane, we crossed the Californian 
Gulf, and made the land on the afternoon of November 11th 
The sea breeze set in late, and the sun was down upon arriving 
at the Venados Islands. The ships were together, and having 
each a position assigned, the Independence passed ahead, and 
standing boldly in, anchored abreast the Olas Altas beach, 
within half musket-shot of the shore. The Congress came to 
anchor in the old port, commanding the old road and garita, while 
the Cyane brought her guns to bear upon the eastern face of 
the town, from the new anchorage. 

All remained quiet during the night on shore ; the boats of the 
squadron were gotten in the water ; batteries in fighting order ; 
guns cast loose and trained ; besides whole hail-storms of round 
shot, shells, grape, and divers other sorts of deadly pyrotechny, 
piled in stacks and racks, around the decks, all ready at a 
moment's warning to knock the town to dust. At sunrise a flag 
of truce was sent to summon the authorities. The Commandante 



144 CHAPTER XXI. 



Telles, in consequence of fatigue caused by galloping about the 
place, and brandy, did not appear, but delegated his officials to 
inform the American cartel, that he could not reconcile with it 
his honor to receive our officers, and to inform El Seilor Com- 
modore that he saw no necessity for surrendering Mazatlan, but 
the same time he should retire to his camp at the Palos Prietos, 
beyond the environs, where he would await the ruthless 
invaders. 

Four hours were given for deliberation ; we were told subse- 
quently, that they anticipated four weeks, with the privilege of 
breaking off negociations at the end of that period. Before the 
time had expired, the companies for landing were ready in the 
boats, and the artillery awaiting the stroke of the bell to begin 
the ball; but presently there came alongside a dapper little 
personage, with intelligence that the Mexican troops had 
entirely deserted the town, and no resistance would be offered by 
the inhabitants. After all the trouble we were a little disap- 
pointed, and even Uncle Ben Bunker, our worthy gunner, was 
quite exasperated, being obliged to stow away his fire-works, and 
secure the guns, for a more remote occasion. 

The flotilla of twenty-nine boats had assembled around the 
flag ship, and, headed by the Commodore, we pulled between 
Creston and the Main, and made for the mole. Not a bayonet 
was visible. A concourse of persons lined the beach, who merely 
gratified their curiosity by scowling upon us, as the boats came 
to land and emptied their loads. In ten minutes our flag was 
flying over the town, and twenty-one guns saluted it from the 
Independence. Field-pieces were then disembarked, placed 
in position, the men wheeled into column, the band struck up, 
and away we marched through Mazatlan. The house-tops 



WE OCCUPY THE TOWN. 145 



were crowded with veiled faces ; but upon so slight an acquaint- 
ance we found difficulty in putting in even a wink, except at 
rare intervals. We reached the Cuartel, a large square build- 
ing for barracks and citadel, situated on a slight eminence in rear 
of the town, and commanding the main roads to the interior. 
The sailors and marines were soon quartered, guns planted, and 
all preparations made to resist an attack. Three hundred were 
detailed for garrison, and the remainder sent on board. From 
appearances, the Mexicans had departed with great precipitation, 
leaving many of their accoutrements, some hundred stand of rifles 
and muskets, saddles, and a few pieces of artillery. Their whole 
force was about eight hundred, more than half regulars, and had 
they chosen to stand their ground, we should have suffered severely, 
although not perhaps repulsed. Telles and his troops were posted 
a league up the road, near the forest of Palos Prietos, and it was 
stated that his intention was to assault us ; but we experienced no 
alarm on that score, feeling assured that, after relinquishing all 
their advantages in position, they could have no further wish to 
retake them. 

The first few days we were occupied making reconnoisances in 
the neighborhood. Two positions were selected for fortifications : 
the one, a steep hill, overlooking the estero ; and the other, a 
lower eminence, entirely guarding the main and only approach 
for cavalry by land to the port. This was the Garita. Between 
these two points, in former times, a line had been marked out, 
faced by a broad and deep ditch, intended to connect the western 
branch of the inlet with the sea, thus cutting the town entirely 
off from the main land ; but the excavation had only been com- 
pleted as far as the Garita road, leaving, however, but a narrow 
causeway open. 



146 CHAPTER XXI. 



Heavy ordnanee, long twenty-four pounders, with carriages and 
wheels, mortars, and lighter guns, were brought ashore from the 
ships ; and as they were drawn through the streets, by the stout 
arms and shouts of hundreds of sailors, the inhabitants fairly 
looked astounded. In a short time these heavy monsters were 
staring, with their dark cavernous mouths, from the esplanade of 
the Cuartel. Picks, shovels and barrows went briskly to work; 
ditches, walls and parapets were commenced, and went on un- 
ceasingly for many months. 

Previous to our coming, a great number of the more respectable 
residents had retired to their estates, or the towns in the vicinity ; 
but upon finding that the North Americans were not such out- 
rageous invaders as they had been led to believe, gradually thes8 
families returned to their homes in Mazatlan. Meanwhile, a mil- 
itary and civil Governor and Lieutenant Governor* had been 
appointed, and an ayuntamiento called from among the citi- 
zens, with commissioners on our side, to arrange preliminaries for 
the municipal administration of the town. This proved to be a 
matter of very difficult adjustment. The junta were averse to 
removing the alcobala — a tax levied upon provisions and produce 
entering the gates — at all times a burdensome and unequal extor- 
tion, falling upon the poor : this was at last yielded, and it, of 
course, became a very popular measure, although with little real 
benefit ; for the producers themselves were compelled to suffer 
severely from the rapacity of their own troops outside. The 
President of the Council was Senor Crespo, a very respectable, 
honest person ; and could he have been induced to fill the post, 
saving a few illiberal ideas and fears of compromising himself with 

* The last named appointment was ably filled by Lieut. Halleck, of 0". S. Engineers, 
who, from his military and scientific knowledge, was of the greatest assistance to the 
expedition. 



MEXICAN MORALITY. I47 

his former friends outside, all would have gone on smoothly ; but 
he refused to serve, and Seilores Pelaiz and Leon were appointed 
to preside over the civil tribunals. This caused dissatisfaction, 
as neither had a surplus of moral character to boast of; but as 
the commodity was scarce, the judgeships would have remained 
vacant a long while, before more suitable selections could have 
been found among the Mexicans. Nevertheless, the policy pur- 
sued by us became popular with all classes, and there were but 
few exceptions to the general wish, that our flag might float over 
them forever. What tended in a great measure to revive confi- 
dence among the wealthier inhabitants, was our manner of con- 
ducting business at the custom house. The scale of duties, as 
exhibited by the Secretary of the Treasury, was modified to suit 
this market, and, in the absence of all bribery and corruption, it 
restored a certain harmony of association among the merchants, 
which, necessarily, was interrupted by the Mexican policy of 
holding out inducements for every trader to undersell his neigh- 
bor ; when all were constantly intriguing with the govern- 
ment empleados to get their cargoes through the customs, at a 
lower mark than usual. This system was done away with, 
trade was thrown upon an assured basis, and it consequently en- 
couraged a more friendly intercourse. As a single instance of 
the rapacity and extortion practiced by the Mazatlanese authori- 
ties displaced by us, there were five-and-twenty officials employed 
within the custom ** house ; and of a yearly revenue averaging 
nearly a million of dollars, not a rial ever went to the general 
government. In the first place, the Mexican tariff was frequently 
so heavy as to amount to prohibition, and to save time and the 
risk of smuggling, it was only necessary to throw a third or fourth 
of the duties into the commandante's or collector's hands, who, in 



348 CHAPTER XXI. 



turn, made a smaller distribution to the cormorants beneath them 
Telles had it in his power to have laid by half a million of money, 
but it all went like water through his fingers, and he fled as poor 
as he began. 

There were no restrictions placed upon the liberties or pleas- 
ures of the people. They had justice by their own laws. We 
preserved order. Patrols and police parties perambulated the 
town night and day. After oradon had tolled, no person was 
permitted to enter or leave the Garita until sunrise, without the 
risk of a bullet in his body ! for sentinels were doubled at night, 
and mounted pickets guarded the great ditch towards the ester o. 
No arms were permitted to be carried by citizens, and both gen- 
tlemen and paisanos were obliged to leave them, upon entering the 
town, at the Garita. 

There was but one church in Mazatlan, for the people are not 
piously inclined, and one Padre was all we ever saw ; and him 
the girls called Father Windmill. The only good public 
edifice is the Duana. The houses generally are of one story, 
built of bricks, or adobies, and plastered over ; but all the wealthy 
residents have fine, cool and spacious dwellings, with flat roofs, 
which command pleasant views of the sea and environs. The 
streets are wide, having trottoirs, tolerably well paved and light- 
ed. There are two small plazas, many very handsome shops, 
cafes and sociedads. Altogether, we found ourselves in a modern 
little city, and much nearer civilization than in the mushroom 
settlements of California. 

The climate is very warm in the morning, though tempered 
by cooling breezes from the ocean towards afternoon. After the 
summer rains have passed, much sickness prevails, owing to the 



MALARIA AND FEVERS. 149 



malaria that is generated from the wet, marshy plains and lagoons 
around the town. Congestive fevers and agues are then quite 
common, and the wealthier orders retire to the high lands of the 
interior. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

The Mexicans remained encamped but three days at Palos 
Prietos, when, leaving strong posts of cavalry to blockade the 
roads, and intercept communication with the town, they retired 
to the Presidio of.Mazatlan — a place eight leagues beyond — where 
they went into quarters. As yet they had committed no hostile 
acts, except making a bonfire of a number of their own launches, 
and small craft, that had been carried for safety up the Estero, to 
prevent them falling into Yankee hands. We could see the gay 
pennons of their lances constantly with the spy-glasses ; and by 
this time having acquired a slight idea of the topography of the 
immediate suburbs, we began to extend our scouts further beyond 
the lines. 

The skirmishing commenced on the 18th. With fifty men, we 
left the Cuartel at midnight ; pursued a path parallel with the 
beach, and after resting some hours in ditches, and nearly 
devoured by musquitos, at break of day found ourselves a 
league from the garrison. Soon after, we discovered a body 
of forty horsemen moving along the road in direction of the 
town. We were obliged to break cover, and run smartly to a 
hedge that fringed the road, in hopes of intercepting their retreat, 
and were of necessity soon exposed to view. The lancers wheeled 
to reconnoiter, and then came on at a trot. We blazed away 



A REEFER'S IDEA OF BULLETS. ^5j 

with the muskets, when they increased their speed, until on 
reaching a thicket, they halted and returned the fire from their 
escopetas. This continued some time, the balls knocking the 
dust up in little puffs, but too far distant to do any damage, when 
hearing the sharp pinging song of a bullet, I turned my head 
and beheld a verdant reefer, with a cutlass strapped around his 
waist, one hand in his pocket, and the other scratching his cheek. 
"Hillo!" quoth I; "what's the matter ? "— " Nothing but 
these musquitos," he replied, and continued attentively regarding 
the flashes from the bushes. While this little fusilade was going 
on, we espied two officers, who had probably ventured too far in 
advance of their troop, and were entirely cut off from the main 
body ; we hailed them to surrender, but, without heeding the 
summons, they behaved quite coolly ; moved slowly towards 
where a dozen muskets were gazing at them, and where they were 
obliged to pass an angle of the road, when having availed 
themselves of the last chance of even a leaf of shelter, with one 
arm clasping the horses' necks, they half swung from the saddles, 
and made a desperate rush to pass us. A hail-storm of balls and 
buck-shot rained around them ; the horses plunged, evidently hit, 
and the hindmost rider fell from his seat, still clinging to the 
saddle, but the speed of the animals soon bore them to their com- 
panions and shelter. We afterwards learned that they had lost 
one killed and five wounded. Pursuit was useless, our heels 
being less nimble than horses, so we formed and returned to the 
barracks. 

The night following this adventure we were out again , 
about three hours past midnight, with a single attend mt, I 
became separated from my party, and after getting bewildered 
among swamps and thickets, just as day was breaking we reached 



152 CHAPTER XXII. 



the beach. All right now, we thought, and trudging stoutly over 
the sand, we suddenly came full upon a Mexican picket. We 
dropped as if shot. It was early dawn, and we were not dis- 
covered. They were sitting on their horses, behind a little 
hillock, with the butts of their long lances resting on the ground ; 
and for my part I already, in imagination, felt one, half through 
me ; they were anxiously peering about, and we were certain that 
the first movement on our side would be attended with inevitable 
capture, with melancholy thoughts of perspective dinners on 
frijoles and paper cigars. So we remained quietly lying on the 
sand, until presently one exclaimed, with much emphasis, com- 
padre, no hay Yanlcis ! corramos — there are no Yankees, let us be 
off. A moment later, there was heard a sharp rattle of musketry, 
soon followed by a volley ; uttering loud curses, they gave spur, 
covered us with dust as they galloped by, and disappeared in the 
woods. Regaining our feet once more, we plunged waist deep 
through a lagoon, crossed fields and fences, and reaching the 
main road, devoted all our energies to our legs. A mile of this 
healthful exercise exhausted our powers, and we paused for 
breath ; but the troubles apparently were not ended. A party 
of horsemen came dashing along the road in our wake ; running 
was out of the question, there was no more run left in us, so with 
a cocked carbine and pistol we stood the result. Our fears were 
groundless, however ; and, upon seeing ladies in the troop, we 
took courage, and advanced to meet them. It was a Spanish 
family, returning from Rosario, who falling accidentally between 
the firing of the skirmishing parties, were nearly frightened out 
of their wits ; indeed, one of the ladies had fainted, and been left 
at a rancho by the roadside, until a litter could be sent from 
town. They were not more rejoiced at having us for an escort 



AFFAIR AT URIAS. 153 

than we were to avail ourselves of their protection, and we all 
jogged bravely into Mazatlan. Our fellows returned soon after, 
having made a few prizes of arms, saddles, and camp equipage, 
but did no bodily harm to the enemy, who, as before, had fled. 

On the night of the 19th, a plan was matured for surprising a 
body of infantry under command of a Swiss, the former captain 
of the port, named Carlos Horn ; our spies reported his position 
in the small hamlet of Urias, about seven miles up estero. A 
hundred men, with a small field-piece, took the main road, while 
half this number were to embark in boats, pass beyond the 
Mexican post, land, and march down to meet the shore 
party. 

We left the ships at midnight, and with muffled oars pulled 
silently up the river. On passing the hamlet, we saw the gleam 
of camp fires, and the cry of their sentinels arose, shrill and clear 
in the still night, alert ! alerto ! The oars dipped noiselessly in 
the water, and, continuing up the estuary, we soon came to the 
spot indicated by our guides. Scarcely had the men formed on 
the beach, when we heard, first a few dropping shots, and then 
volley upon volley, from our friends to the left. After groping 
about some time to find the road, the guide discovered that he 
had mistaken the landing, and we accordingly reembarked. By 
this time, the firing from the shore party had ceased, and all was 
again quiet. Beneath the deep shade of overhanging foliage 
that fringed the banks of the estero, the boats were carefully 
pushed down the stream, until a narrow opening in the bushes 
gave a clear view of the broad level marisma, and we found our- 
selves directly in front of the village itself, with fires and lights 
flashing in all directions. Without attracting attention, the boats 
were cautiously drawn within the thickets, the sailors forming, 



154 ' CHAPTER XXII. 



and lying down upon the sand. We were close to the Mexicans — 
their sentinels not twenty yards distant, and every word they 
uttered distinctly audible. Presently a body of horsemen came 
clattering over the hard beach. Quien es ! sang out the guard. 
Carlos ! said the watchword, and then began an angry altercation: 
" Why did you fly from those cursed Yankees, when you knew 
they were approaching?" Porque mi Coronet, los Americanos 
rompieroii el fuego contre la advanzda — y habia balazos aqui, y 
alia, y que podia hacer yol rejoined the speaker — They fired 
upon our advance, and the bullets were flying so thick, that, 
what could I do? "Where are they now?" said the Colonel. 
"Oh! they have retreated to Mazatlan again." Loco! — you're 
a fool — said the Colonel, with much disgust; "they're only 
awaiting daylight, to be upon us — is all quiet at the water?" 
Si Senor, not a soul has passed. "Then let the men fall in, 
and go through their exercise." It was about three o'clock; 
their men formed in ranks ; horses were led out, and the troopers 
mounted ; officers began drilling their companies, encouraging 
them to stand firm, and the Yankees would certainly be cut to 
pieces. Nothing was heard ^or seen, for an hour, but the heavy 
thud! thud! of the ramrods in loading, and glancing of sabres 
and small arms. During all their proceedings we remained mo- 
tionless. By-and-bye the first grey streaks of dawn came slowly 
over the eastern hills — still we did not stir — the men, however, 
were becoming a little nervous, from resting so long in one posi- 
tion ; and occasionally, the clink of a bayonet or noise of accou- 
trements striking together were audible ; and just as *he day was 
bursting forth, like a flash, as it does only in the tropice a Mexi- 
can soldier, on duty nearly at our elbows — and who, by the way, 
disturbed our repose during the night by a bad cough, and talking 



THE ESCARAMUZA 155 

to himself — discovered us, and sung out, Aqui cstd kombres f — 
these were the last words he spoke — the signal was given along 
our ranks, " rise ! — take aim — fire low." As the smoke rolled 
upward, we saw a number of saddles emptied, and the marisma 
strewn -with dead and wounded ; although taken completely 
by surprise, the Mexicans were not as yet intimidated, and, 
shouting viva Mexico! they immediately gave us a heavy fire 
from carbines and escopetas ; but our sailors had kneeled to load, 
and the leaden shower passed over. The firing lasted for some 
minutes, when the word was given to charge ! Away we splashed 
over the marisma — their horsemen broke and fled, dragging off 
dead and wounded — the infantry did not make up their minds until 
the bayonets were nearly upon them, when they, too, dropped their 
muskets and plunged into the chapparal. Meanwhile the shore 
party was approaching, and had commenced a fusilade upon the 
advance post of the Mexicans, and very much to our relief, after 
putting them to flight, the cheerk of out* friends greeted us, for 
the field-piece was pitching shot far beyond the enemy, and a 
few stand of grape had already fallen about our heels. Sending 
small bodies into the thickets, we drove the discomfited troops to 
the hiils, and then finding i«ir cavalry had rallied up the road, 
pursued them a mile, e:^Sianged a few shots, when, the field- 
piece coming up, they finally made good their retreat. 

Returning to the hamlet, we collected a few articles of camp 
equipage — mules, horses, and arms ; then digging a pit in the 
sand, we laid the corpses of the slain within, covered them decently 
over, and^erecting a rude cross, put on our hats and retired. 
There ^gyp^a vile old virago standing in the door of a rude rancho, 
whoj/^ouring the whole skirmish, never for a moment ceased to 
curse los demonios Yankees ; and although the walls of the house 



156 - CHAPTER XXII 



were thickly spattered with bullets, she escaped unhurt ; not so 
her comely daughter, who was grazed on the cheek. Our own 
force suffered pretty severely : one killed and twenty-two wounded, 
of whom two afterwards died. The Mexicans we learned had lost 
nine killed and eighteen badly wounded. These little affairs are 
capital sport during the flurry and excitement of action, amid the 
cheering and firing, noise and confusion ; but when the fun is over, 
and the surgeons are busied with bandages and blood — pallid faces, 
splintered bones, streaming gun-shot wounds around — and, per- 
haps, a pair of lifeless legs dangling outside the carts near by — 
the scene presents a more gloomy aspect. 

Placing the disabled in boats we began our march towards 
the port. Through the kindness of Mr. Canova, who filled 
the office of First Lieutenant to our company, I transformed 
myself into a dragoon, my friend having stumbled upon a 
black charger, ready equipped, which he placed at my disposal : 
moreover, I was somewhat bruised from the blow of a spent 
escopeta ball, that during the melee had struck me under the 
arm, knocking me over into the water, as if — as was strongly 
surmised by my friends — a jackass had kicked me. However, 
this was scandal, industriously circulated by the Lieutenant- 
Governor, who was himself sorely disappointed in not getting hit, 
after untiring exertions amid the thickest of the skirmish. 
Nevertheless, I lost a cutlass by the operation, and thought it no 
robbery to draw a long toledo-like weapon from the belt of a dead 
Mexican, which, with the image of his patron saint, and a bundle 
of cigarillos, amply repaid me for my bruises. 

Some months later, in a conversation with the officer who com- 
manded at Urias, he informed us that he had been aware of our 
coming from the merchants in town, and had requested reinforce- 



THE RETREAT. 157 



ments from Telles, which, however, was not attended to ; and a body 
of eighty cavalry, who had been detailed to charge the shore party, 
fled without discharging a carbine. He spared no abuse on the 
cowardice of his officers, but very highly praised the conduct of 
the soldiers. 

We reached Mazatlan at noon. The day after, Telles marched 
to Urias, with his whole force and artillery ; but, hearing a report 
that the Americans were coming to attack him with bombas, 
retreated the same day to Castillo, where he again encamped. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A month had elapsed since the occupation of Mazatlan, and 
we had all been busily employed upon the fortifications, and 
in acquiring a little knowledge of our new duties on shore : we 
dropped the sailor and assumed the soldier ; forgot all about 
rigging and ships ; talked of roll-calls, reveilles, parades, counter- 
signs, drills, sections, ditches, and parapets ; the officers of the 
day, too, appeared in red silk sashes round the waist, with swords 
at their sides — sat in guard-rooms — sung out, " Sergeant, let that 
man pass," or, " Corporal, let the fatigue parties fall in " — quite 
like generals of division. I had only been a week in barracks, at 
the Cuartel, and getting initiated in the mysteries of soldiership, 
when, the fever making sad havoc among our ranks, I was ordered 
to relieve the company stationed at the Garita, where the illness 
had been unusually severe. The position was a conical eminence, 
within three hundred yards of the sea beach, nearly surrounded 
by lagoons, and entirely commanding the main road to the port 
The hill was originally owned by a gentleman, who, after building 
a decent little balconied dwelling thereon, for a summer retreat, 
eventually had the satisfaction of removing his family thence, in 
carts, to the more wholesome air of the town. In consequence of 
its unhealthy situation, caused by miasma that arose from the 
stagnant pools below, it was not considered a desirable post, not- 



THE GARITA. 159 



withstanding its pretty location ; and I may as well add, that out 
of one hundred and seven officers and men who had been stationed 
there, I was the sole individual that was not taken ill with fever 
during the six months of our stay. Previous to my occupation, 
an energetic brother officer had already raised a breast-high stone 
wall, and three guns had been planted in battery. It was a place 
of much importance, and an equal degree of annoyance ; for we 
were obliged, with a small force of thirty men, to be extremely 
vigilant, and were kept chattering, from morn until night, in 
examining hundreds who were passing to and from the port. The 
house was filled with fleas, too, whose attacks were far more 
troublesome than the Mexicans ; however, after a hard war of 
six weeks, constantly deluging the floors with salt water, they 
migrated in a body, and we were never again molested. Work- 
men came, re-plastered and washed the walls, repaired windows 
and doors, restored cook-house and stable, so that in the end we 
found ourselves more pleasantly quartered than in any other posi- 
tion in town, and had no wish to leave. At the same time large 
working parties were detailed daily from the main barracks, 
who were employed digging a deep, wide ditch, throwing up an 
embankment, and raising a heavy stone wall immediately around 
what the peasantry designated our casa blanca — white house. 

During this period the military force outside committed 
robberies unceasingly. A few miles beyond our lines the roads 
were strongly guarded during the day, but at night were left 
open — the lancers and cavalry retiring beyond our reach. Our 
force was too small to occupy the roads permanently, without 
imprudently weakening the garrison of the town ; consequently, 
those thieving gentry, under the name of ac bala, levied tribute 
in the most impartial manner, upon all their poor countrymen 



160 ' CHAPTER XXIII. 

alike. We had frequently gone out in small ambuscading parties 
in hopes of picking off a few of the ladrons, but without any 
success. Scarcely a single individual out of hundreds who passed 
the Garita but had some bitter curses to lavish upon the lancer os ; 
even the poor women occasionally were mulcted in their petticoats, 
until at last they all became exasperated, and many volunteered to 
conduct us to the retreats of their tormentors. The services of one 
brave paisano were called into requisition, who had been robbed of 
his hogs, which being valuable property among the peasantry, and 
his revenge being warm, we thought he could be trusted, and 
indeed a staunch and valuable ally he ever afterwards proved. 
The expedition was under command of Captain Luigi, and with 
fifty-five men we left the Cuartel, without beat of drum, at nine 
in the evening. Leaving the main road at the Marisma, we 
entered a pathway, closely sheltered by trees and foliage, and 
after two hours rapid marching, halted at a cluster of ranchos by 
the roadside. Here we could only learn that the Mexican 
cavalry had passed by at sunset ; but during an examination of 
one of the huts, we laid violent hands upon a rude squint-eyed 
youth, who though half naked, and apparently stupid, had a bag 
of dollars tied up in the tail of his shirt ; him we interrogated with 
a bayonet at his throat, and there were sufficient symptoms of intel- 
ligence in him left to assure us that if he himself were not attached to 
the party we sought, he knew the bivouac. With a riata around 
his neck, and carefully guarded, we again advanced. Four miles 
beyond, we reached the encampment ; it was situated in a flat 
little meadow, a few feet lower than the road, and girdled nearly 
around by the gully of a water-course that hemmed it in on all 
sides. Our march had been so silent as not to create alarm, and 
strange to say there was not a sentinel awake. Embers of the 



NIGHT SKIRMISH OF 6IGUERAS. 



161 



watch-fires gave sufficient light to distinguish the sleeping figures 
of the troops, with horses picketted near. We divided our forces 
into two parties, one commanding the pathway to the meadow, 
whilst the other poured in a deadly fire, and immediately charged 
across the ravine. Taken completely by surprise, they jumped 
up in great consternation, and in their flight received the bullets 
from our remaining muskets ; before we could reload they were 
flying, like so many ghosts, across the field, leaving everything 
behind. On gaining the bivouac, we found it quite a picturesque 
little glade, shaded by lofty forest-trees, and beneath, were a 
number of bough-built huts, verging on the rivulet that crossed 
the road. We counted eight dead bodies : one poor youth was 
breathing his last. By the fitful light of a torch I tore open a 
bale of linen at hand, passed some thick folds over the welling 
blood of his wounds, placed a drop of brandy to his lips, and left 
him to die. They were sixty in number, and we captured all 
they had — carbines, lances, ammunition, horses, saddles, and 
clothing, besides their private correspondence. 

There was one incident connected with this escaramwza, which 
was a source of deep regret to us. The wife and daughter of 
the commanding officer had, very imprudently, been on a visit to 
the encampment. When the attack commenced, they were sleep- 
ing in a hut, and immediately fled ; but the child, a little girl of 
ten years, had been grazed by a ball in the foot, and told her 
mother the pebbles hurt her feet ; the kind but unfortunate wo- 
man ran back, in the thickest of the fire, for the child's *hoes, 
and, upon returning, received a mortal wound in the throat She 
was found by her friends, and died the following day — 

u O ! femme c'est a tort qu'on vous nomme timide, 
A la voix de vos cceurs vous etes intrepide/' 



162 CHAPTER XXIII. 



Loading our men with such articles as could be conveniently 
transported, we burned or destroyed a large quantity of arms, 
munitions and merchandize, and then began our march towards 
the port. Such a motley throng as we presented! Some 
were laden, from the muzzles of their muskets down to their heels, 
with every possible variety of trumpery — bridles, sabres, flags, 
serapas, and even women's clothing ; others, mounted on several 
saddles, one a-top the other, with bundles of lances and fluttering 
pennons secured to their horses. Our trusty guide, in lieu of the 
purloined swine, had heaped bale upon bale on his horse and 
individual person, until he appeared, in the midst of his plunder, as 
if seated on a camel : our gallant captain had contented himself 
with a key bugle, and a capacious uniform frock-coat, some 
sizes too large for him : I did better — for, coming upon the dead 
body of an officer, I removed a silver-bound saddle from his head, 
which, with silver-mounted bridle, handsome sabre, and a few 
other articles, I appropriated to myself. Indeed, I have never since 
wondered at the rage one feels for abstracting an enemies' goods 
and chattels on similar occasions — such an itching, too, beyond 
mere curiosity, to search people's pockets, that, in a few more 
guerilla excursions, I felt confident of becoming as good a free- 
booter as ever drew a sword. Three months after this affair, I 
became great friends with a Mexican officer to whom some of these 
equipments belonged. He assured me there had been six golden 
ounces concealed in the saddle, which I readily believed; for the 
leather-man, who renovated it in the port, remained oblivious six 
weeks after completing his task. Love-letters, miniature, and com- 
mission, I returned to my friend ; but the handsome sabre — on 
the blade of which is engraved, No me saques sin rav *, no me 



WE TAKE TROPHIES. 163 



emba/ies sin honor — Draw me not without cause, nor sheathe 
without honor — and saddle, I have retained, trusting that El 
Teniente Lira will acquit me of any other motive than that of 
possessing some trifling souvenir of our first meeting at Sigueras. 

We reached Mazatlan at daylight, and after arresting two 
members of the municipal junta, who were occupying a seat in the 
council, and who, while expressing much sympathy for the Yan- 
kees, had written detailed accounts of the distribution and strength 
of the garrison, I retired to my cool cot at the Garita, and in- 
dulged in sleep. 

Donning habiliments again towards evening, I mounted my 
horse, and in riding to the plaza, had the happiness to make the 
acquaintance of the fair wife of Telles, who was en route for the 
Presidio. Agreeably to request, I accompanied herself and 
suite beyond the Garita, when she informed me that her liege lord 
was highly indebted for allowing his weekly supply of cogniac 
to pass — because good liquids were rarely met with at head-quar- 
ters — but that I would be doing him a service by retaining a large 
amount of dunning billets, that passed through my hands to his 
address. Promising to comply with the ColonePs wishes, I bid 
his lady adieu; but I am sorry to add, that politeness to the 
graceful senora was the innocent cause of my losing a beautiful 
horse ; for it was quite dark on reaching the port, and instead of 
going where I originally intended, I paused a moment at the 
bowling alley, where, meeting some officers of a British frigate, I 
gave the bridle to a leper o to hold, and passed into the building ; 
but scarcely had we crossed the threshold, when, startled by the 
report of fire-arms, we all rushed out, and found the poor animal 
raining blood from a bullet in the throat. The villain of a leper o 



164 ' CHAPTER XXIII. 



had shot him with a pistol from the holsters. A group of kind* 
hearted young reefers did their best to staunch the blood, and one 
little fellow even tied his trowsers around the wound ; but all was 
unavailing, and in ten minutes my spirited blooded bay was dead. 
Oh ! Mr. Smithers ! you keep a good ten-pin alley, sing a good 
song, and your wife prepares good chocolate ; you are, together, 
good fellows ; but you should never, O ! Smithers ! transform your 
establishment into a knacker's yard. And you, my cruel leper o ! 
had I ever got a sight of you along that weapon you handled so 
well — ah ! I well nigh wept for sorrow that night, and did not 
recover my spirits for a fortnight. 

The escaramuza at Sigueros was the means of keeping the 
roads free for a few days ; but in a fortnight the Mexicans had 
again taken position, and though falling back some distance, were 
yet enabled to cut off all communication with Mazatlan. The paisa- 
nos, as usual, complained sadly, and asked protection. Accordingly, 
an expedition was planned, under the guidance of a diminutive 
ranchero, who, after tracing paths and diagrams on paper without 
end, in hopes his individual services could be dispensed with, at 
last determined, with many misgivings, to lead the way to his 
habitation, where a troop of lancers were wont to enjoy themselves 
upon his bounty. 

Early in the evening a battalion of an hundred marines left the 
garrison, but had barely been gone an hour, when a lot of fright- 
ened old women rushed to the Cuartel, and swore that a large 
body of troops were landing from the estero, for the purpose of 
sacking the town. Rub-a-dub, rolled the drums — the walls were 
manned — and rockets went fizzing and bursting in the air, for 
assistance from the ships. Meanwhile, I was despatched, with a 
small party, to inquire into the truth of the rumor. After making 



AN EARLY TOILET. 165 

a thorough examination along the river, and scaring the last 
breath out of a poor fisherman, dying with fever, we were con- 
vinced the report was merely a ruse, a sort of counter-irritant, 
attempted by the town's people to alarm the troops outside, and 
call back our men. The marines had marched by the beach ; and 
at midnight, with thirty muskets, I took the main route, and lay 
in ambush at the cross of the Culiacan and Presidio roads, for the 
purpose of intercepting the enemy's retreat, in case they fled 
towards headquarters at San Sebastian. For nine hours we were 
nearly flayed alive by muskitoes, and only recompensed for the 
torture by detaining some hundreds of people and their beasts 
It was quite diverting to observe a simple pedestrian, stepping 
jauntily along, whistling blithely away — as the natives always do 
when travelling alone by night — when a look-out, perched high 
upon an overhanging branch, would utter a sharp hist ! the traveller 
would falter, and perhaps thinking his fears had misled him, again 
pass on, and while faintly resuming his chirrup, another energetic 
summons would quite startle him, and ten to one but down he 
would fall, crossing his breast, and ejaculating a pious ave puri- 
sima ! A tap on the shoulder would direct them in the thickets, 
where, squatting on the ground, they never thought of moving 
until permission was granted. Just at daylight, a stout brown 
muchacha came tripping by, and unconscious of our close prox- 
imity, seated herself on a rock, and unfolding a little bundle, 
began to comb her locks and attire in a gala dress, either for the 
Sunday mass, or to create a sensation upon entering the port. 
After carefully arranging the camiseta, and whilst in the act of 
throwing, as a woman only can do, her basquina — a worsted 
petticoat — over the shoulders, one of my ungallant scamps hit her 
a smart rap with a pebble. Giving one terrified scream, and 



166 CHAPTER XXIII. 



uttering a prayer to the Virgin, she dashed up the road ; but, 
encumbered by loose drapery, soon measured her length, in 
the most ludicrous plight, upon the sand. We assisted her to rise, 
and perceiving our lurking-place, she laughed heartily, after 
indulging the gay sailor fellow who threw the stone with a speci- 
men of the sinews in her stout arms. The women were, almost 
invariably, the vehicles for transmitting information concerning 
our designs in town, to their friends outside ; among our multi- 
form duties at the Garita was that of opening all correspondence 
and perusing the contents. It was surprising how shrewd and 
accurate were many of their surmises, and the tender regard they 
still evinced for their forlorn lovers — at least on paper ; and such 
imploring billets, too, from the banished caballeros, for their 
faithless amantes to join their fortunes in the camp, to rid 
themselves of the hateful Yankees. Yet with all their coquetry 
they still did their best to shield th^ir former friends from danger, 
and so cunningly, too, as to be difficult of detection. On a certain 
night, while visiting the sentinels at the road, a negress came from 
the town, and in reply to the hail, as was customary with the 
natives, replied, norte Americano ! On being told no one could 
pass before sunrise, she retraced her steps, and in attempting to 
steal past by another path, came near being shot, notwithstanding 
her cries of norte Americano ! Upon making a third effort some 
hours later, my suspicions were aroused, and as we were desirous 
of preventing all egress at the time, to my shame be it said, I 
ordered her searched. Nothing was discovered, and to repay her 
for the indignity she had experienced, I gave her a kindly and 
paternal pat on the wool — there was the object of our search ! a 
little crumpled bit of paper, on which was scrawled, a la carrera, 
entre dos luces, los gringos! — be off: the Yankees will be upon 



A GUIDE KILLED. 167 



you at daylight ! But neither threats nor entreaties could induce 
the black courier to betray the writer. 

Finding no signs of the Mexicans, we marched back to Mazat- 
lan at noon. The marines shortly followed, having surprised the 
lance.ros, and taken a number of horses, arms and prisoners. But 
a damp was thrown over the affair, by their bringing in the body of 
our little ranchero friend, Madariaga, who was accidentally killed 
during the fray. Poor fellow ! he was intelligent, and we drank 
out of the same cup. The day after, while riding through the 
town, I saw tapers burning in a house, and upon entering, there 
was stretched the corpse — still in his bloody vestments — a bullet 
had entered behind one ear, and passed out at the other. A crucifix 
reposed upon the breast, whilst a common flat-iron lay on tho 
stomach. Near by, his sister was gazing mournfully at the blue, 
pinched face, while close behind her stood an inhuman virago, 
anathematizing him from all the saints in the calendar, for having 
been a traidor y espia de los comjpatriotas — spy upon his country- 
men. The Mexicans asserted that he had been deliberately 
assassinated, and rejoiced that he had received a worthy recom 
pense for his traitorous conduct. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

Towards the close of the year we had become quite domes- 
ticated in the town, and habituated to our new duties : the 
dullness that ensued upon the occupation had changed into 
animation, business, and bustle ; the port was thickening with 
merchant-ships and coasters, and duties were rapidly rolling into 
the Yankee treasury ; the merchants themselves had entered into 
arrangements with the Mexican officials outside, and the staple 
export of the province — logwood — came in on the backs of 
hundreds of mules daily, to fill the homeward-bound vessels for 
Europe. The laborious task of the garrison still went on, much 
to the disgust of Jack, who swore ditching and hod carrying was 
no part of a sailor's duty. The fever still continued, in a milder 
form ; but few new cases ensued, although those who convalesced 
almost invariably relapsed, and were never entirely cured until 
going again upon salt water. The townspeople began to look 
less gloomily upon their invaders, and the men were not averse to 
finger Uncle Sam's cash ; and the women, bless their sweet, for- 
giving souls, sought the main plaza in the afternoons, arrayed in 
tastefully flowing robes, and graceful ribosas, whilst their surpris- 
ingly diminutive feet beat time to the music from our bands. 



HOW THEY MARRY IN MAZATLAN. 169 



Nor were they chary of flashing glances, or murmured salu- 
tations ; and in the calm nights, when pianos and harps were 
disturbing the still air, it was not regarded as a novelty to behold 
a few blue-jackets, spinning around in dance and waltz at the 
fandangos, or, as the more tonnish were termed, bayhs. 

The native society of Mazatlan cannot certainly boast of a 
very elevated tone of morality. Indeed I have good authority for 
asserting that there were not fifty legitimately married couples in 
the town — rather a small proportion for ten thousand inhabitants : 
perhaps the marriage formula is considered a bore, and since even 
the rite within pale of the church is not so religiously respected as 
elsewhere, it appears unreasonable that they should place any 
legal check upon their domestic felicity. Still this system of 
relatione, as so generally practised in Mazatlan, appeared to 
work well, and we never heard of lawsuits for children. Occa- 
sionally, it is true, a jealous master would thrust a cuchillo into 
the tender bosom of his spouse ; but what of that — it was cos- 
tumbre del pais ; however, these were the exceptions. 

Among the lower orders, the women were invariably gifted 
with amiable dispositions, natural in manner, never peevish or 
petulant, requiring but little, and never happier than when moving 
night after night in the slow measure of their national dances. 
Even the men were not bad-tempered, though beyond comparison 
the laziest and most ignorant set of vagabonds the world pro- 
duces. They were a quiet people also, never so far forgetting 
their natal sloth, as to go through the exertion of making a noise. 
Even their knife encounters were conducted with a certain show 
of dignity and decorum. For example, at the esquina of some 
street is a group of leperos — gentlemen throughout the Republic 
of Mexico, enjoying the same moral attributes as Neapolitan 
8 



170 CHAPTER XXIV. 



Lazzaroni ; — their property at all times on their backs, and resi- 
dences precarious ; they are playing nionte on a coarse blanket 
or serapa laid upon the ground ; one accuses another of cheating, 
and at the same time twits him with the most deadly insult a 
Spaniard can offer, possibly because it is so near the truth: 
tu eres cornudo ; true or false, his antagonist calls on all the 
saints to bear witness to his innocence, springs to his feet, 
twists a serapa around the left arm, and, before one can say Jack 
Robinson, their keen blades are playing in quick, rapid passes, 
seldom giving over until deep and sometimes fatal stabs are 
interchanged ; but if not seriously hurt they drink a cup of 
aguadiente together, light cigarillos, and continue the game until 
another quarrel arises. These little passages of arms were of hourly 
occurrence, and the severest regulations were not sufficient to 
repress the evil, although there never was a solitary instance, 
during our stay, where a quarrel had arisen between the towns- 
people and the garrison. I chanced to be an eye-witness to one 
of these street skirmishes one evening, near the Sociedad. A 
fellow received a perpendicular cut, which severed nearly half the 
scalp, and the entire ear, leaving the mass hanging down the 
neck, like a flap to a pocket-book ; it was properly dressed by a 
skilful surgeon, and the man was about again in six days. Indeed 
the climate was most efficacious for wounds, and remarkable and 
most extraordinary cures were said to be effected; two of a 
serious nature came under our observation. The first, a sailor- 
sergeant, who, while returning from his rounds, and walking up 
the Garita hill, not replying to the sentinel's hail from above, in a 
sufficiently loud tone of voice, received a musket-ball in his right 
breast, which wounded the lung, and passed out of the back, 
below the shoulder-blade : the case was aggravated by a severe 



SAILOR CAVALRY. 171 



and lengthened attack of fever, but the man eventually recovered, 
and was entirely restored to health and strength. The second 
instance was a young Mexican officer, named Soriano, who was 
shot by a rifle-bullet at Urias, transversely through the breast, 
beneath the ribs. After suffering some months, under a quack, he 
was brought to Mazatlan, where he was successfully treated by 
one of our surgeons, with every prospect of speedy recovery. 

Of late, we had had no guerillas worth mentioning, and were 
amusing ourselves by drilling a troop of sailors into dragoons ; and 
truly it was a matter of as much satisfaction as mirth, to see how well 
the seamen accomplished their task ; of course, it was great sport for 
them, but naturally fearless, and all well mounted, they soon were 
taught to dash recklessly at anything, from a stone wall to the fire 
from a battery, and in due course of time, became, for a sudden 
burst, quite equal to any Mexican emergency that chose to stand 
the brunt of a charge. We never had the opportunity of testing 
their cavalryship, but I think they would have made a creditable 
report of themselves. They were commanded by Captain Luigi, 
and at intervals I had the satisfaction of accompanying his 
troop on short excursions into the interior. One night we 
took a flying gallop down to Urias. On the way thither, over 
the level marismas, the Captain's charger plunged into a hole 
and the whole left file vaulted, or trampled, over him, but, as 
usual, he escaped with the loss of a little parchment from the 
visage, while the horse had a broken shoulder. On nearing the 
vicinity of our former escaramuza, I passed ahead with four men, 
and found the prize we sought, in a Mexican soldier, who proved 
to be the orderly-sergeant of General Urrea, the Governor of 
Durango. Our prisoner was quite taciturn at first, but on the 
assurance that he would certainly be hung the following morning, 



172 . CHAPTER XXIV. 



and after profuse libations of muscat — a country liquor — he opened 
his mouth and confidence, informing us that he had left an escort 
at the Presidio ? and when taken was awaiting some effects belong- 
ing to his master, from the port, to be carried to Durango. At 
daylight, the articles were seized ; but, owing to the fact that some 
Innocent persons were drawn into the transaction, the Governor 
good-naturedly signed passports for the whole party, including the 
soldier ; although his master, the General, bore no enviable repu- 
tation, for the cruelties he had perpetrated upon American pri- 
soners on the other side of the continent. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The new year dawned upon us, and January and February 
passed rapidly away. The popularity of the Mexican Command- 
ante, Telles, was waning fast. A number of his own officers had 
pronounced against him — but this, with a few effective followers, 
was speedily put down, and the leader shot. However, a strong 
force from Culiacan was raised by the powerful family of Vegas, 
the legitimate Governor of Sonora — and from whom Telles had 
wrested the command of Mazatlan — in conjunction with a body of 
three hundred troops, under one Romero, from the opposite 
extreme of the province Tepic, and resolved to gain the ascend- 
ancy by destroying our blockaders. Upon the approach of 
these bodies, Telles' troops refused to fight against their country- 
men, and nothing was left for their old captain but to succumb 
to circumstances ; these ups and downs, however, being not uncom- 
mon in Mexico, the chagrin attending the disgrace is not taken 
seriously to heart. After a week's intrigue and negociations, 
finding his enemies implacable, he resigned his authority, was 
then betrayed, arrested, sent to Guadalajara under a guard, where 
he shortly afterwards expired. His case excited much sympathy, 
for he bore the reputation of being brave and generous, lavishing 
all he received upon the treacherous friends about him, who 
flattered and cheated, until adversity stalked in, when away flew 



174 CHAPTER XXV. 



the gay birds who had made him their prey. One of these gentry 
did me the honor to present himself late one night at the Garita, 
claiming parole as a deserter from the Mexicans. He had been 
chief of the staff and cavalry, bore the name of compadre — adviser 
and rascal-in-general to Telles — but having had the sagacity to 
cram his filthy pockets with fifty thousand wheels of fortune, of 
course had no further wish to remain. He pointed out all the 
weak positions, avenues of attack, and general information con- 
cerning the force of the outsiders — more, I was convinced, to vent 
his spite on those whom he had already betrayed, than from regard 
to us. On parting, the gallant major favored me with a note of 
introduction to one of his lady-loves, coming from the interior, 
and remarked, with a pecuniary sigh, that when commanding my 
little post he never made less than a thousand pesos a month. It 
was upon the Mexican system — where the strong steal from the 
weak : but here was my captain of battalion, Mr. Mitch and 
myself — with all the trouble of guarding, examining, quarelling, 
and at times beating, hundreds of paisanos daily, and devil the 
centavo could we ever extort \ on the contrary, our exchequer was 
at a deplorably low ebb, so much so that we were scandalously 
accused of playing monte for quartillos — fippennybits ; — and we 
discussed the alternative of taking to the road, robbing a con- 
ducta of mules laden with money, or remaining in the port until 
peace should be declared, inciting a pronunciamento, and declaring 
ourselves commandantes of the province. 

The united force of the Mexicans who had assembled in Rosa- 
rio, amounted to one thousand, three hundred of which were 
cavalry, and seven pieces of artillery. They talked bravely of 
driving the Yankees on board the ships, and were constantly drilling 
and exercising their troops and guns. Vegas' proclamations were 



ARMY DIFFICULTIES. 175 



clear and business-like ; lie established an internal duarui, or custom 
house ; declared a specified and moderate scale of duties — having 
the sense to perceive that soldiers must be fed, and although rich 
himself, he had no inclination for playing commissary at his own 
expense — and besought the merchants of the port to send their 
merchandize to the interior. All these warlike preparations 
caused us neither alarm nor trepidation. Our works were near 
completion, and we had twenty-six guns mounted, besides the 
additional security of some small hulks, moored at a ford of the 
estero, mounting a battery of Paixhans. The garrison had been 
slightly increased, and, altogether, we felt confident of holding the 
port against any odds. The merchants, however, were as yet shy 
of trusting their valuable property within reach of Mexican rapa- 
city, and consequently, the troops were beginning to find them- 
1 afaes e m ~1 at embarrassed. The commanders quarrelled, and 
Vegas himself, being heartily disgusted, forthwith fell back, with 
troops and artillery, towards Culiaean, leaving a fourth part of 
his force, under charge of Romero — a miscreant, who had the 
reputation of assassinating his own colonel, at the storming of 
Chapultepec, for a beltfull of doubloons. Being thus left without 
the means of doing us any injury, they pursued the same annoying 
process as their brethren before them, by robbing their own coun- 
trymen, under the odious alcobala. 

During all this time we never for a moment ceased keeping up a 
rigid discipline, and exercising the utmost vigilance; the severest 
punishment was impartially meted to all offenders ; and our know- 
of the topography of the country, for some miles round, 
being quite equal to the Mexicans', they had good reason to 
keep beyond our limits. At rare intervals, indiscreet persons 
would try to run the gauntlet into town, and one dark night, three 



176 ' CHAPTER XXV. 



troopers, not seeing our guard, attempted to steal in by the beach : 
one was astounded, on not halting at the hail, at receiving a bullet 
through the shoulder, and they then turned bridles, leaving us a 
brass-bound hat and lance, as keepsakes. Indeed, once we came 
nigh peppering our own patrol ; fortunately, but one ball only 
flew over Captain Luigi's head. It may have been a peculiarity 
of some of our sailor sentinels, that, at night, they immersed 
themselves breast deep in little pits, resting their muskets upon 
mounds of sand in front, at a dead aim upon whoever advanced 
along the roads. I do not know if this kind of tactics be tolerated 
by Regulation ; but Jack, in his ignorance of minute detail, had 
to place reliance on his eyes. 

Once, after hearing the report of a musket, I inquired of the 
sentry the cause. " Sir," said he, " the chap wouldn't stop, so I 
hailed him in the very best Spanish, and then fired ; there he 
lies kickin', up the road, sir!" It turned out to be an innocent 
stray jackass, a bad linguist, who could only converse in his 
mother tongue. However, these little incidents convinced our 
neighbors that security did not throw us off our guard. 

We still worked hard at the Garita— deepening the ditch — 
filling up embrasures, and raising the walls. It was fatiguing 
labor, for the heavy stone had to be wheeled from the base of the 
hill. Already strong frames of timber had been erected at angles 
in the walls, where three twelve-pounder short guns moved on 
quadrants, overlooking the parapet, and sweeping the hill in every 
part, while, near the centre of the little fortress, a beautiful long 
brass nine traversed on a circle, that could throw the iron mes- 
sengers two miles over the plains below. The sides of the building 
facing the lagoons were planked up, enclosing spacious piazzas, 
and sheltering the men from nightly malaria borne along by the 



THE CAS A BLANC A. 



17? 



land winds. The men were obliged to keep their quarters per- 
fectly clean, and the)' slept comfortably in hammocks suspended 
from beams above. Everything went on regularly — they had 
long since given up bad habits of drunkenness — and out of the 
entire company, but two drew their allowance of spirits. Four 
old dames came with the early dawn, bringing coffee and choco- 
late, which they exchanged for surplus rations and the privilege 
of washing Jack's clothes. Liberty was occasionally granted to 
visit the port, and every day two or more were gunning around 
the lagoons, keeping the post supplied with quantities of delicious 
wild ducks and curlew, and, when the moon was full, numbers of 
terrapins. We had strict inspection, morning and evening. At 
nightfall, sentries were doubled on the hill and roads — the guard 
set — guns primed — matches lighted — and everything ready at a 
moment's notice. I am thus minute in describing these unim- 
portant details about the Garita, for it was my first, and most 
probably, will be my last attempt at soldiership. Besides being 
a great source of pride and pleasure, it was the spot where I have 
passed many happy hours. Indeed, it was the only decent or 
habitable post pertaining to the garrison ; and I deem it not amiss to 
state, that, had a twentieth portion of the quarter million of dollars 
collected by us through the customs, been judiciously expended in 
restoring the old Cuartel, and providing a few necessary comforts 
the sailors required, it would in a measure have repaid them for 
toils and hardships on ship and shore, where they were necessarily 
obliged to undergo many expenses, in a service apart from the 
line of their duty. And furthermore, a due regard to their personal 
comfort might have been the means of reducing the medical 
estimates, and at the same time, of saving many a poor fellow, 
whose bones now moulder beneath the sod. But notwithstanding 



178 CHAPTER XXV. 



these drawbacks, it was gratifying to the officers who commanded 
them, to know, that, even amid the novelty of their position, they 
reflected credit on their country, and left an excellent impression 
behind them, among the Mexicans themselves. 

Many of the officers who had been detailed for service at 
the Garita, were eventually obliged, on the score of health, to 
leave for more healthy posts ; and in the end, Mr. Mitch and 
myself were the only ones left-. Our quarters were immediately 
over the men, in a large square apartment, the ceiling taking the 
angle of the roof ; two balconied windows faced the sea ; another 
overlooked the port and estero, while a large, roomy piazza com- 
manded a wide and extensive view of the surrounding plains, 
dotted by fields and ranchos, with a high wall of mountains in the 
back ground. When in the town the heat was almost insupporta- 
ble ; in our casa blanca it was never in the least degree oppressive. 
We always slept under a blanket, in white canvas cots, swinging 
from the rafters, curtained off by bunting. Bathing was our chief 
delight, and the green waves well nigh broke at the base of the 
hill, where we played in the foaming surf for hours each day. 
We had breakfast brought from the French hotel in the town, 
which incident happened about eleven o'clock, on a table screened 
off in the piazza. Coffee we sipped, with a spoonful of cogniac, 
before the morning's bath, to drive away the malaria. So we 
drank light bordeaux with the meal, and when nice fruit passed 
the Garita, made a selection, in lieu of the abolished alcobala. 

Ah, dear Mitch, those were pleasant days ! And do you ever 
recall our pleasant little suppers by night — our cosy confabs — our 
sage reflections — quiet moralizings and speculations upon the 
reverses of fortune, after an interview with Don Manuel — and 
our schemes for reform Ah, my boy, those bright days have 



MADRE MARIA AND JUANA. 179 



vanished. Then came the afternoon's pasear, with a troop of 
officers, or the good hospitable merchants of the port — showy horses, 
jingling trappings, coursing and capering along the sea-road ; — 
to the plaza again in time for music, with a bow, or smile, as the 
case might be, to some gracefully-robed, tiny-footed dona ; then 
a few prancing vueltitas to show off, around the square, when we 
gave spur for dinner. 

Just without the range of our guns was a ranchito, owning f$r 
its mistress a jolly dame, named Madre Maria ; it was not for 
her that we occasionally extended our evening's ride, but for a 
half-uttered actios ! Caption ! from the pearly teeth of little 
Juanita. I believe there never was so much dirt and beauty 
combined. She was the sweetest mite imaginable, and of a style 
to have destroyed Murillo's slumbers. Then pretty Juana suf- 
fered from calenturas — fever and ague, — and I at times carried a 
little phial of quinine, and felt Juana's pulse and temples, but the 
jolh- patrona would shake her head roguishly, and exclaim, jest- 
ingly , — No es possible, Se/ior Chato, sin matrimonii) — you can't 
make love without marriage. Ah! pico largo, I would reply, 
con razon, pero llama vol el padre Molino— certainly, so send for 
Father Windmill. We had a private code of signals with 
Maria, to hang a " banner on the outward walls," in shape of a 
white petticoat, whenever the Mexican troops came within hail. 
She mortally detested them, for they made too free with her hen- 
roost, ancl.muscal bottles ; and on her weekly pilgrimages to the 
port, seated on a quiet mule, with pretty Juana behind, attired 
in her holiday dress, and Jesusita, the youngest and most diminu- 
tive piece of womanhood, tripping along the road beside them, 
they would pay us a visit at the casa blanca, with some little 
present, of eggs or fruit ; and the brave old lady would invariably 



180 CHAPTER XXV. 



beseech us for a loaded carbine para fusilar los ladrones — to shoot 
the scamps. Once I saw the signal with the spyglass, and 
attended by a friend rode out to the rancho ; but it was a false 
alarm, caused by an old white horse standing lazily behind the 
pickets. We found the group of Maria and daughters washing 
in the lagoon, nearly all in dishabille : Juanita with naught but a 
flimsy chcmisetta, not a ceinture around the little waist, revealing 
the most adorable juste -milieu form — between the bud and the 
rose — with rich masses of dark hair covering her shoulders, and 
rivalling in beauty the splendor of her eyes. I drove the old lady 
into the pond, for which indecorous behavior she launched a 
calibash of wet clothes at my head, then snatching up little 
Jesusa, just four years old, I bore her to the beach for a dip in the 
surf. " How rich you are," said the little creature, as I com- 
menced disrobing. "Why?" — " Because you wear stockings." 
And this, indeed, is one of the distinctive marks of wealth among 
the lower orders throughout Mexico. 

It not unfrequently happened, that reports were circulated, 
without mi#h foundation, that the troops outside were about to 
attack the post, and as a consequence the timid farmers living in 
the environs became alarmed, and would send their families to seek 
shelter within the fort. At times we would be gratified with fifty 
or sixty women and children visitors, huddled together quite con- 
tented and merry about the piazzas. They had learned to place 
full reliance upon their invaders, and whatever course we adopted 
was looked upon as the only correct and proper mode of acting. 
While testing the range of our guns one morning, a carronade 
was accidentally discharged, and a stand of grape-shot struck the 
lagoon below, dashing a shower of spray over a group of old 
crones washing on the banks, I immediately ran down to see if 



MEXICAN SENORAS. isi 



they were wounded, but I found them quite cool, and even sur- 
prised that I should have surmised such a thing. a Why r " said I. 
Porque, Capitan, usted es cajpaz para qualquiera cosa — because 
you Yankees ha re sense for everything. 

On Sundays our receptions were more select ; then the elite of 
Mazatlan extended their promenades around the works of the 
garrison, and would be induced to ascend the hill, and sip dulces 
or itcdia at our quarters in the casa blanca. The gentlemen 
would glance over the newspapers detailing revolutions or pro- 
nunciamentos in the interior, when casting up their eyes, with a 
simultaneous puff of cigar smoke, would exclaim — Ay ! pobre 
Mexico ! and one had the sense to observe, that the war was 
death to Mexicans, but life to Mexico. But of one fact no logic 
could convince them — that our worthy collector of the Duana 
returned all he received to the government — so wonderful a dis- 
pensation, that an honest administrador could be found in any 
position was entirely beyond their comprehension. The ladies 
were generally very curious and inquisitive, and after affording all 
the information we possessed, relating to domestic economy and 
dress, once a pair of lovely senoras, after mature reflection, 
apparently having made up their minds, favored me in this 
strain : " Without doubt, you Xorth Americans are very good 
people, and you don't beat your wives ; but then you don't 
know how to lavish money on ladies like our own countrymen ! " 
But I interposed — " We feel obliged to pay our debts, and then 
pleasure afterwards." u Bah que importa," said they ; " all we 
know is, that where you Yankees give a dollar, our people shower 
gold," 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

Soon after the occupation of Mazatlan, I made the acquaint- 
ance of a young Mexican girl, of a respectable family in Guada- 
lajara, who had eloped with her lover, an officer stationed in this 
province. She was better educated, far more intelligent than 
the generality of her countrywomen, and with all the graceful, 
winning ways, peculiar to Creoles. She was living with an old 
relative, in a cottage near the skirts of the town, and I fre- 
quently sought her society, listened to the low, sweet cangioncitas 
of her native land, or, seated beneath the shade of a spreading 
tree in the inner paiio, she would recite by the hour old legend- 
ary redondillas and ballads of Mexico, while her servant played 
with the sweeping masses of her jet-black hair : she was very 
proud of it, and often told me, that when she became poor, it 
would serve her for a mantilla. She had soft feminine features, 
pale complexion, lighted by large, languid, dark eyes. She was 
a tall and slender girl, but with the smallest feet I ever beheld. 
This was Dolores. Her mind appeared to partake of the mourn- 
ful signification of her name, and, even during her gayest moments, 
she was always tinged with sadness. Poor Lola ! she was think- 
ing of her lover, who had left with the troops on our coming. 

Returning one morning from a fatiguing night skirmish, the 
servant Tomasa met me on the road, and placed a note in my 



LOLA'S LOVER. 1$3 



hand from her mistress. It was simply a desire to see me. 
Without going to the quarters, I turned my horse's head towards 
the town, and soon dismounted at the house. The old aunt 
received me with some agitation, and I could see the shadow of 
Dolores reflected from an inner room. Que hay Senor ? JVada, 
una escaramuza, no mas ! Ymuertos? Quien sale! puede se?' un 
oficial de ustedes. — What's the news? Nothing but a skirmish. 
Any killed ? Yes, perhaps one of your officers. At this reply, 
Dolores entered the chamber, and with a quick low voice, asked, 
"and the color of his horse, sefior ? white!" She burst into 
tears, and sank to the floor. I afterwards learned that it was her 
lover, who, however, had only been slightly wounded. He had 
been in the habit of entering the port disguised as an arriero, and 
was expected on the morning alluded to. Had I known what he 
was capable of doing at a later day, he might have lost the number 
of his mess, instead of receiving a buckshot in the leg. 

From this period, poor Dolores became more and more triste 
and depressed. She never was seen again in the plaza — the 
music had lost its charm — her books were thrown aside, and she 
would hardly mingle in conversation. Some weeks went by, and 
duty claiming all my time, I had not called for many days. Late 
one night, Toniasa came running to the Garita, and with breath- 
less haste, told me that her mistress was very ill, and wished to 
see me. A few minutes' gallop took me to the door. The old 
lady was weeping, and poor Lola was lying upon a low couch, 
with blood slowly frothing from her lips — but I thought there was 
a gleam of pleasure in her eyes. She had burst a bloodvessel — at 
least I imagined so at the time, and I instantly despatched a boy on 
my horse for a surgeon. In the sequel I discovered the cause 



184 CHAPTER XXVI. 



Tomasa informed me, she had heard the Seflora scream, and upon 
entering the room, found her lying insensible on the ground, deluged 
in blood, and on coming to, she had begged her to say nothing, but 
send for me. The fact was, that her lover had again stolen into 
town, and whether from idle jealousy, or natural brutality of dis- 
position, had the dastardly cruelty to beat the poor unresisting 
girl, with the hilt of a pistol, until she fell lifeless from heavy 
blows showered upon her breast and shoulders. This was fully 
shown by the post-mortem examination. The miscreant fled, and 
many an hour of sound sleep he cost me, in hopes of getting a 
glimpse of him along the tube of a rifle. 

At the time, there was a chance of recovery ; and daily, after 
the hemorrhage ceased, I sat by her bed-side, and tried to 
encourage her with anticipations of returning health. No! 
no ! me voy a morir — It is all useless, I am going to die! — 
counting with her thin fingers — " in three weeks ! Ay de mi ! 
for one last sight of my native land." Sometimes I would read 
to her a Spanish translation of Sue's Mysteries of Paris, and she 
never tired of saying of Fleur de Marie, Pobrecita ! que dolor /— 
Poor thing ! what sufferings ! She was gradually sinking, but 
still her spirits rose, and her big black eyes became more and 
more luminous. It was sorrowful, indeed, to see a young girl, so 
beautiful and bright, just bidding adieu to life. 

She had the best medical attendance, but another hemorrhage 
ensued, and the lamp of life was fading fast. At last, Tomasa 
came for me : Dios de mi alma ! la Senora se esid moriendo — My 
mistress is dying. I found the sick chamber filled with women, 
and a priest, while a number of tapers threw a strong light upon 
the nearly breathless sufferer. The padre soon accomplished his 
drawling work — a crucifix was pressed to her pallid lips — the bed 



DEATH OF DOLORES. 185 



and floor sprinkled with holy water — a hasty av6 was muttered, 
and they then withdrew. Fortunately, a sister had arrived a few 
days previously, and it was a great consolation to the dying girl. 
I drew near, and seated myself at the couch. She placed her 
limp little hand in mine — told her sister to sever a tress from her 
hair when she was dead — and drawing a ring from her finger, 
smiled faintly, saying, acuerdese de mi amistad — remember me 
kindly. An hour passed, and I was forced to leave — indeed, 
while every breath came fluttering to the lips, weaker and weaker — 
I could not bear to see the last — I whispered adios, kissed her 
pale forehead, and went away. 

She expired just at midnight. During the whole period of her 
illness, she never once murmured a reproach against her lover, 
but left him a blessing when she died. If such beautiful devotion 
has not heaped coals of fire on his head, he is less than man. 

The night following her decease, I was seated on a tombstone 
in the little cemetery near the port, when my eye was attracted 
by a flickering torch, and advancing, I met the corpse. We made 
five in all. The grave was open, and we lowered her gently 
down. All was still, save the convulsive sobs of Maiiuela, and 
the rolling earth falling upon the cofnn — the dew sparkled by the 
reflection of the blazing torch — the work was done — light extin- 
guished, and mourners gone. Alas ! poor Dolores ! I have pre- 
served your tress and ring, and time has not yet erased the 
remembrance of your love and sufferings from a stranger's breast. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

We could not boast of an opera, or any grand theatrical dis- 
plays in Mazatlan ; but yet our sailor-troops, as sailors always do 
when unemployed, had contrived a Thespian corps, and weekly 
representations were given, by stout tars in whiskers and petti- 
coats — and once a grand tableau in commemoration of Stockton's 
victories "at La Mesa. There was a pretty theatre in town, 
where a little ranting was done, and there was the usual Sunday 
resort in the cock-pit, where a deal of dollars changed hands, but 
the greatest spectacle of any was in the arena, where we were 
favored by brilliant feats of horsemanship, by Mr. Bill Foley, of 
Circo Olimpico notoriety, in conjunction with his " ingin-rubber 
boy." He was a useful, amusing vagabond, who had passed more 
than half his life in Mexico, and went by the savage title of 
El tigre del norte. The Tiger, upon the claims of national rela- 
tionship, applied for the office of collector to the port, but not 
being successful, he deigned to accept the high position of forage 
master to the troop, but whether owing to his prompt method of 
settling accounts, or the sphere not being sufficiently enlarged for 
his abilities, he threw up the commission in disgust, declaring his 
countrymen were the " ungratefullest people in the world," and 
again devoted his talents to dress, love, monte, and the arena. 
The last accounts of Bill, he was starring it away like a planet 



MONTE. 187 



in the interior of Chili. May bright dollars attend thee, Bill, in 
whatsoever portion of the globe thy destiny directs thee. 

Added to these public diver tmientos, there were the sociedads, 
where the necessary aliment of Mexican existence was in constant 
operation. This was nionte — our usual resort was that of the 
gran sociedad, conducted by Don Manuel Carbia ; — he was a 
diminutive old Spaniard, very shrewd and intelligent, and among his 
numerous occupations was that of a proprietor of launches, keeper 
of an almacen of ship chandlery on the Mole, divers pulperias, 
billiard-tables, restaurateur, and pawnbroker in general. Senor 
Carbo, as our beloved Colonel Jacobus called him, was never 
seen without a cigar between his teeth ; it acted as a kind of safety 
valve to his vital organs, and it was strongly surmised that if he 
ever discontinued, for an interval of five minutes, he would 
inevetably choke to death. Seated behind the long green baize- 
covered table, with his implements of cards and dollars around 
him, the very chink of the coin lighted up his dark visage, like to 
a fresh cigar. He merely played for amusement — so he said — and 
although he amused himself considerably at our expense, yet we 
had no grounds for just complaint ; he played, bueno como cabal- 
lero — fair and above board, — and if we lost our cash, it was in 
striving to win his. Once if my memory serves me aright, when 
mounted on the caballo — the picture of a horse on Spanish cards — 
I kicked Don Manuel so severely, that his teeth chattered like a 
pair of castanets — but this did not often occur. 

There was another odd character, who kept a casa de bebida, near 
the Cuartel, where the officers sometimes touched in passing. No 
one knew what nation claimed him as a subject — he was a fat 
mottled-visaged Boniface, whom the Mexicans — as they always 
nick-name every one — had christened the " Golden Toad." The 



1S8 ' CHAPTER XXVII 



toad played melodiously on the flute, supposed to be a mild resto- 
rative to soothe the sorrows consequent upon the unfortunate 
state of his domestic relations. 

The carnival was not carried on with much spirit, nor was 
Lent regarded with the same pious severity as in other Catholic 
countries. The Mazatlanese are not a pious people ; there 
were, to be sure, a few processions, and fire-works, accompanied 
by a wooden piece of artillery, discharging salvos of sugar-plums, 
with nightly fandangos, but this was all. 

Our intercourse and diversions were not restricted to native 
society, for we also enjoyed a pleasant association with foreign resi- 
dents. The circle of our own countrymen was limited — the Consul, 
good Doctor Bevans — who gave us a grand feast on leaving, — and 
the Anglo-American house of Mott & Talbot. From all of these 
gentlemen we experienced the utmost civility ; but to Mr. Mott 
and his amiable lady we stand indebted for many and repeated 
acts of kindness and hospitality, that never can be too gratefully 
remembered. 

Not only in Mazatlan but all over the world, the great firm of 
a Mynheer and Company" chase the dollars with as keen a scent 
as the Yankees ; and there is not a nook, however remote, where 
these thriving Germans are not filling their sacks, but still their 
thirst for gold does not prevent the pleasures of " faderland " 
from being re-enacted in their far-away homes. There was one 
jolly Belgian there — a large, handsome, jovial blade, ever on the 
vive for fun or punch, — hi3 house, like himself, was lofty and 
capacious, with a cellar over the way, where one might wish to live 
until it became dry. And the Hern Hutter, too. Will eye of 
thine, my pleasant friends, ever glance at this tribute to your 
virtues? Let us recal those delightful evenings. Old Jack's 



LIFE IN MAZATLAN. 189 



oysters, and, mein gott ! that delicious arrack — when shall we 
ever taste the like again ? — with the piano tinkling, and the 
rich sonorous voice of portly Hausen chanting the solemn ave 
furissima until the very paving-stones rattled, and the lovely 
lips of his pretty wife were held in a painful state of wide-mouthed 
laughter. Where art thou, O ! Hern Hutter ! dost remember 
Piny and Luigi, even until the matins were tolling, when we 
mounted our steeds — your own the famous piebald charger — and 
never checked rein, until tumbling in the sparkling surf upon the 
sands ? 

Besides these warm-hearted fellows, there was another to whom 
my heart still yearns, and no time can ever banish the love I bear* 
him. He was the beau-ideal of a John Bull — burly, surly, brave, 
obstinate, and strong in his likings or dislikings. We met at first, 
neither in a pleasant mood ; I was the aggrieved person, for he 
permitted me to mistake him for a Mexican, and talk bad Spanish 
half an hour, when he coolly broke ground in Anglo-Saxon. But 
time removed first impressions, and in his little cottage by the 
shore, at his generous board, and in fact in very many ways he 
loaded me with favors and hospitalities, which I shall always 
recur to as among my brightest recollections of the past. And 
truly it is not in great cities, or teeming ports, where merchants 
are seen to social advantage ; it is in out-of-the-way spots — far, 
far away — when least expected, that the traveller finds warm 
hearts and firm friends — and none more so than in Mazatlan. 

I was a daily guest of Don Guillermo's, at the cottage. 
Dinner over, and a rubber at whist, I usually strolled about the 
town — peeped in at the fandangos — perhaps a shy at monte — 
thence to arrack — music, jolly Hausen, and so home to iny quar- 
ters. Though a sort of vaut-rien existence, still it was one quite 



190 ' CHAPTER XXVII. 



in consonance with my tastes, and since I am not at all competent 
for a clerkship, if any of my former friends can employ me as a 
smuggler, or in any other nautical and honest pursuit, I shall be 
most happy to comply with their terms. 

For a short period, these my amusements were unpleasantly 
interrupted, and came within an ace of being finally closed in 
eternity. Sitting one night, in a moralizing mood, by my friend, 
Mr. Mitch, during a pause in conversation, we were startled by 
the long rolling sound of the drums, beating the alarm from the 
Cuartel. The sentries shouted from the walls, for the men to 
get under arms, and snatching up hat and pistols, we rushed out. 
The night was quite dark, with thick fog ; besides, I was nearly blind- 
ed from a lighted room ; and mistaking the stairs by a few inches, 
I walked off the piazza — a height of fourteen feet — falling, most 
fortunately, between three men coming out from below, with fixed 
bayonets, and escaped being impaled, by a slight wound in the wrist. 
I was picked up insensible, and my companion thought even burnt 
brandy would prove unavailing. However, on coming to, and 
being duly jerked about the legs and arms, no bones being frac- 
tured, I was found whole, with the exception of some severe 
contusions in legs, back and head. After all the row, the gen- 
erate was only beaten by way of precaution. For some days I 
was confined to my cot, without being able to move, consoled, 
however, by lots of agreeable visitors — bottles of liniment — good 
cigars — alleviated by the sympathies of sua admirable young nurse. 
There I was, reposing " in ordinary," swinging backwards and 
forwards. From one window I could see green plains and lagoons 
stretching away to the distant hills ; and from the balconies, long 
strings of mules, with their cargoes, and could hear the shrill whistles 
and cries of the arrieros, urging the perverse brutes in either 



SCENES FROM THE CASA BLANCA. 191 



direction. The borders, too, of the lagoons were dotted with 
groups of women and children washing ; and whenever I took a 
too long glance through the telescope, at some brown half nude 
figure, I was sure to attract the attention of my black-eyed nurse, 
who cunningly would place her finger before the lens. I always 
chose the mornings to study or write, when the clear, cool sea- 
breeze was beginning to fan the polished surface of the water, as 
the swell rolled rippling on in gentle undulations towards the 
beach — while swarms of pelicans sailed sluggishly along, until 
sighting their prey, when, with a dart like a flash, they parted 
the waves in concentric circles around, and rested contentedly on 
the water, packing away the little fishes in their capacious pouches. 
• Then, if our little house-keeper was docile, and not mimicking 
the Colonel, for she detested the sight of a book, I would draw 
the table to my cot, and enjoy an hour's tranquillity. But when, 
later in the day, the breeze began to roughen the sea into light 
caps of foam, causing the waves to break heavily upon the shore, 
then the windows began to struggle and slam, books and papers to 
whirl across the room, until I was glad to put by everything, and 

say, ami git a cant a sing, my little friend. She would purse up 

her roguish lips in mimic affectation, and then, in a lively strain, 
begin some provincial ditty — 

u En la Esquina de casa, 
Un oficial mi hablo." 

Yet there are no alleviations that can recompense a person of 
active habits for being laid up, even in lavender. In a few days 
I was able to sit a horse, and soon after, perfectly restored. 

Thieving and pilfering were practised among the lower orders, 
in an almost equal degree to knife combats. Leperos are thieves 
and liars by profession, and their coarse serapas serves to conceal 



U2 CHAPTER XXVII. 



all their peccadillos. The Spectator tells us, that in the days of 
Charles II, a rascal of any eminence could not be found under 
forty. In Mazatlan they were more precocious. Eating, sleeping 
and drinking, they could easily dispense with, for a handful of beans 
and the open air was an economical mode of life, and cost little 
or nothing : but a few rials were absolutely indispensable to game 
with on feast days ; and as the Leperos, as a body, are not fond 
of work, they exercised their ingenuity in appropriating property 
of others. I had escaped their dejDredations so long, that I fancied 
there was nothing worth niching in my possession, or innocently 
supposed there was some kind of freemasonry established between 
us. However, I was soon undeceived. One morning, according 
to custom, Miss Rita made her usual call, attended by some gay 
friends, and all attired in their prettiest robes and ribosas: — 
"Would I read an anonymous billet in verse?" Si Senorita. 
" You are appointed Teniente de la trijpa," — a ball given annually 
by the butchers. " Then, would I meet her at the grand fandango 
in the marisma ?" Of course. u Pues hasta la noche ami go mio P\ 
and away they tripped down the hill in high glee. In the even- 
ing after dinner at the cottage, in company with Seiior Molinero, 
we strolled to the fields. A large marquee had been erected in the 
middle of the open space, and around were smaller affairs, with 
numerous booths, sparkling with lights, music and merriment. It 
was not a very select affair, and I took the precaution to loosen 
my sword in its sheath. Presently we entered into the spirit of 
the frolic, and were soon hand in hand with leperos and their 
sweethearts — sipping from every cup — whirling away in waltzes 
— dancing to the quick jarabie, and making ourselves particu- 
larly ridiculous when, presto ! some expert thief snatched my 
sword blade from the scabbard. Search was - instantly made, 



THIEVING LEPEROS 193 



but the successful lepero made good his prize, and escaped. 
The girls sympathized with me, and poor Rita cried, and, 
regardless of being vice-queen of the ball, insisted upon leav- 
ing — so bounding up before me on- horseback, I landed her at 
her little cottage. The night was not half spent, so turning 
rein, I indulged my friend Serlor Carbia with a hasty visit — 
not at all to his satisfaction, for the fickle goddess smiled 
upon me ; but as a slight check to this good fortune, another 
watchful person had stolen a valuable pistol from my h<: 
while the horse was standing in the patio, with a man to guard 
him. At the time I would certainly have presented the ladron 
with my winnings for the pleasure of giving him the contents from 
the remaining weapon ; but eventually I became more of a philo- 
sopher — was robbed at all times unmercifully, and looked upon it 
as a destiny. One of our good commissaries was also a suf- 
ferer. Being lodged in a small dwelling by himself, every few 
days he was regularly cleaned out of his wardrobe, and fre- 
quently obliged to fly trowserless to a neighbor's for a change of 
raiment. I once had the happiness to detect a 3-0 uth in a petty 
act of larceny. Him I had 'carefully conveyed to the Garita, 
when the sailors made what they call a " spread eagle " of him, 
over the long gun. It was a summary process, and I sincerely 
believe, had a tendency to repress his rising predilections for the 
future. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

In the month of March the first positive information relating to 
rumors of peace reached Mazatlan. It was agreeable news to a 
few former empleados of the customs and courts, all idle and dis- 
affected vagabonds, but the majority of peaceably-disposed citizens 
and foreign residents were averse to our departure ; they had so 
long been oppressed by Mexican misrule, intrigue, and extortion, 
that the law, order, and tolerant state of things existing under 
our sway, presented a too pleasing contrast not to sigh for a con- 
tinuance of itv 

One of the brothers, Vaso vil Vaso — gentlemen who stood 
deservedly high in public estimation — had been appointed Gov- 
ernor of the Province, and in defence of the conduct of his fellow- 
citizens who had remained, and accepted office in Mazatlan, he 
published a pamphlet in Guadalajara, giving a narrative of former 
grievances, with a truthful account of our proceedings ; also 
Bpeaking in high terms of commendation of the legality and 
justice that had characterised our policy since the occupation of 
the port. 

The Mexican force outside evinced no disposition to molest us, 
and ere this we had discovered that it was time thrown away to 
pursue them : there was no fighting to be had, petty skirmishing 
was all that had been accomplished; want and desertion were 



A COURTEOUS VISIT. I95 

rapidly thinning their ranks ; the commanders were at swords' 
points, and their only resources were derived from the miserable 
pittance extorted by the Alcobala — in fact, they were fast 
devouring one another. At this juncture, Vegas having with- 
drawn his guns and disbanded the troops in Culiacan, was 
threatened by Romero with an attack, in case the artillery was 
not sent back. For this piece of mutiny Romero was dismissed the 
army, and the military command of the province devolved on a 
respectable officer named Don Juan Pablo Anaya, who made his 
headquarters at the Presidio, with, however, but a mere handful 
of soldiers. 

On the last day of March the official notification of the 
armistice was promulgated in the port. A few days previous, late 
in the afternoon, some arrieros informed me that a number of 
Mexican soldiers were collecting a little revenue, a short distance 
up the road, and then I perceived a signal flying from the rancho 
of Madre Maria. This was a heinous offence, to come within 
long range of our guns ; so sending a small party by the beach, I 
rode out myself. We arrived a minute too late — the dust from 
their horses was just subsiding. The patrona was in a towering 
passion, said there had been a brace of officers, and four 
dragoons, making merry in the house ; knocking the neck3 off 
poultry and bottles, and demanding toll from the paisanos. 
Juanita added, that one of the gentlemen had desired his 
mem,oria$ left at the Garita ! a piece of politeness I was quite 
unprepared for. Returning to town, I forthwith went in quest of 
the Governor. He was afloat, nor was the Captain of the Cuartel 
to be found. What to do I knew not ; it would have been a great 
breach of decorum not to repay the courtesies of my afternoon 
visitors, so I concluded to consult with a compadre. Towards 



196 CHAPTER XXVIII. 



midnight I met Captain Luigi, who being in want of exercise, agreed 
to take the relief-patrol, and accompany me ; the officers on duty, 
Mr. Baldwig and Earl, made up the party. Ten was our number, 
and the horses half wild with spirits. We had an inkling of the 
whereabouts of our amigos, as there was to be a grand fiesta on 
the morrow, some leagues up the Culiacan road, at the village of 
Venadillo ; and as there was to be dancing and frolicking, it did 
not seem improbable that the Mexican advance-guard should 
bivouac in the neighborhood. There was a round white moon to 
light us, and away we leaped at a slapping pace towards the 
hamlet. A league this side we fell in with a couple of paisanos, 
one of whom not replying to our questions, with any due regard to 
truth, concerning the locale of the troops, was speedily forced to 
mount behind one of the patrol. In three bounds, he allowed 
himself to tumble to the ground, but having his intellect sharp- 
ened by a sound kick from the horse in the head, he then thought 
it advisable to cling on like wax ; moreover, his fears induced him 
to tell a straight story, and we soon came in sight of the village. 
The entire place was filled with mules and jackasses, their loads 
of fruit, vegetables, and drinkables lying beside them, awaiting 
the great jollification of the succeeding day. In front of a large 
house, were seated on the ground some fifty or sixty curious 
persons, who, to save time, were attentively playing monte, on 
their serapas, lighted by paper lanterns. Dismounting a few 
rods in the rear, and leaving the horses in charge of two men, we 
silently approached the assembly, and taking position, I stepped 
up, and tapped a swarthy fellow on the shoulder ; he turned 
around, and upon recognizing me, exclaimed with much astonish- 
ment, Aqui estdn los gringos — Holy Moses, here's the Yankees ! 
The whole audience began leaping to their feet, but merely 



SLUMBERS DISTURBED. 197 



pointing to the levelled weapons behind, we besought them to 
resume their seats, and not utter a syllable, or a carbine might 
accidentally explode, and drive a bullet through some one's head. 
Thereupon they again took up the cards ; when clapping a pistol 
to an intelligent person's ear, we gave him five seconds to point- 
out the stopping place of the Commandante. " Here," said he, 
jerking his thumb over his shoulder, " here, in the big rancho." 
Ylos soldados ? Mas for alia en la arboleda ! Quantos ? Halra 
cosa de cincuenta drag ones ! — Where are the troops ? Up yonder 
in the grove ! — about fifty. This was no joke, we thought, to be 
within musket-shot of five times our number ; but since no alarm 
had yet been made, we resolved to seize the Administrador. We 
walked to the door, and struck a few heavy blows. Quien es ? " 
said a gruff voice. Another blow from the hilt of a sabre. 
Soldados ! fuego ! — fire ! — was the reply. Aha ! so you have a 
guard, Seilor, and we instantly placed a thick wall between our 
persons, that the balls might circulate through the door, and 
meet with no resistance or obstruction on the outside ; but no 
report or explosion following the command, we detected the ruse, 
and assured the individual within, that if he did not make himself 
visible «, we would return the compliment in earnest. This threat 
unbolted the door, and in a moment I slapped El Seilor Valverde 
— that was his cognomen — on the shoulder ; and after apologising 
for disturbing his slumbers, at so unreasonable an hour, through 
anxiety to return his visit in the earliest possible time, desired him 
to equip in all haste for a little excursion to the port. He could 
not forbear laughing, notwithstanding his fright. We gave him 
leisure to drink half a bottle of brandy, and put on a clean shirt ; 
when he gave up his papers, and assured us, with a gratified 
smile, that he had that very day sent all the cash to head- 



198 CHAPTER XXVIII. 



quarters. And now we said, " Amigo, where's your horse ? *' 
" Ah," he replied, " there is one here, but let me send to the 
corral for another." The next instant, we found him whispering 
to a small boy cruising around our legs ; but pointing a naked 
sabre to El Sefior's throat, we gave both him and the juvenile to 
understand, that whispering was not allowable in polite society, 
and he would oblige us by mounting the cavallo that stood ready 
at the door, without further ceremony. While this was going on, 
our friends, Baldwig and Earl, were inspecting the outbuildings, 
and came upon the captain of the troop in a very ambiguous 
position. He jumped up in his shirt, and flew away like the 
wind. There was now no time to be lost : collecting a lot of 
handsome arms and equipments, our horses were brought up, we 
leaped into the saddle, tossed two dollars to the patrona, who 
swore some one had stolen a sheet ; said adios ! to the monte men, 
who gave us shouts of viva ! and appeared quite as well pleased 
as ourselves. 

" Then ho ! ho ! hurry ! hopp, hopp, hopp. 

Rode off the troop, with never a stop, 

Until all gasped together." 

We came bounding back the twelve miles within the hour, 
and after giving Mr. Valverde a supper, were safely housed and 
asleep before daylight. But now it came the prisoner's turn to 
laugh at us. I had hardly opened my eyes the next morning, when 
an orderly came from the Governor ! What's to pay now ? thought 
I, and off I rode to the Cuartel. On the way I met Captain Luigi, 
with a most serio-quizzico expression of visage, just from an inter- 
view. After being announced, in I walked. " Good morning, 
sir." " So, sir" — a pause — " you had the presumption to 
detach a force from the garrison last night, and go many miles 



LAST PRISONER OF THE WAR. 199 



into the interior ? — I arrest you, sir — consider yourself arrested, 
sir — you and Mr. Luigi both, sir." " But, Governor," I ven- 
tured to remark, " let me explain ; I thought you would be 
pleased, and a — " " No explanation, sir — pleased indeed ! — 
when you knew the armistice had been signed ! " However, in 
the end, the Governor, who was a good amiable gentleman, 
consented to believe that no disrespect was intended, and 
received our apologies. Whereupon we wrote a letter that 
brought tears to his eyes ; he asked us to dinner, and so the affair 
terminated. Mr. Valverde had all his arms and chattels restored 
— very much to the chagrin of Mr. Baldwig, who had already 
apportioned a saddle unto his own keeping — got a good breakfast, 
and was escorted beyond our lines with muchos cumplimientos. The 
red-headed wretch never passed me afterwards without a face full 
of sardonic winks and grins. But from that moment, we resolved 
never to be again patriotic on our own responsibility ; and our 
only consolation was in knowing that we had made the last 
prisoner during the war. 

Some days after, one of our men deserted. He was intercepted 
by the Mexicans, and since the armistice had been declared, a 
message was sent to the Governor, expressing a willingness to give 
him up. I attended the flag of truce, as interpreter. Not finding 
the escort at the place designated, we were requested by a Mexican 
officer to proceed along the Presidio road. Passing Urias, we"gal- 
lopped on, league after league, until within a mile of headquarters, 
where we were politely received by a guard and an officer, sent to 
conduct us to the General. The old town of Mazatlan, or Presidio, 
is situated on a broad plain, with a rapid, shallow, limpid stream, 
coursing beside it. In times past, it was a place of some import- 
ance ; and the ruins of large almacens, a dilapidated church, spa- 



200 CHAPTER XXVIII. 



cious dwellings, barracks and plazas, still keep up the belief. 
Yet, as the port was found to possess such manifest advantages 
for all commercial purposes, the old town was nearly depopulated 
for the new, and the residents were even induced to leave their 
pure stream of water, for the brackish element nearer the sea. 
The road is excellent, and adapted for artillery, but every rood 
presents capital spots for ambuscades, and it would have required 
much caution to have approached and surprised the Presidio, as 
we had originally intended. As we forded the stream, and entered 
the town, the whole population turned out to behold los Yankees — 
dogs barked — mothers held up their children — and dirty troops 
tried to stare us out of countenance. We were conducted to a 
range of buildings facing the plaza, and presented to the com- 
mander-in-chief, General Anaya. He had a pleasant European 
visage — tall, well-made, dignified and gentleman-like in his bearing 
and address — numbering, may be, some sixty years. We stated 
the business which brought us to his notice, and after some few 
inquiries from his officers, he informed us, that the officer who 
had apprised the Governor was unauthorized to do so; that tho 
deserter had already escaped — which was, indeed, the politest 
possible, and at the same time sensible way of telling us that we 
could not have him. He then cooled us off with a cup of claret 
and cigars ; hoped all national difficulties were about to cease ; 
regarded the United States as the mother of Republics ; boasted 
that he had been present, and wounded at the battle of Jsew 
Orleans, as aid to Jackson ; and finally, turned us over to the 
kind offices of his staff. Our horses, meanwhile, had been well 
cared for, and three hours after noon we were escorted outside 
the lines, and reached the port at night. 

The next day I was ordered to proceed again to the Presidio, 



THE PRESIDIO OF MAZATLAN. 201 



with a flag of truce, to communicate an official copy of our armistice, 
and request a conference, to arrange certain articles pertaining 
thereto. As we did not get there until late in the afternoon, the 
escort and myself were billeted for the night upon the Commis- 
sary General, Don Isidro Beruben, who did the honors of his house 
with great liberality and attention, to say nothing of the sweet 
smiles of his charming little daughter Chonita. We slept soundly 
and rose early, walked around the town, saw the graves of eight 
long bronze cannon, about three hundred troops exercised, and were 
introduced to scores of officers. They were all delighted at the 
armistice, and on tiptoe to get leave once more to visit the port, 
which they somehow regarded as a little Paris. They overwhelmed 
me with interrogatories about their friends and sweethearts : where ' 
were the Manuelas, Madelinas, Antonias, Josephas— <■ pobrecitas ! 
how they must have suffered ! and were they all true to their old 
lovers ? Of course they were — and I vouched for the truth of the 
statement 

As the General had not a reply prepared, we remained to a 
breakfast given by our host. There were some thirty officers at 
table — a number of generals, and all, I believe, colonels : the 
Mexican army is well manned in the higher grades. The break- 
fast passed off well, with no absurd toast-making, and an hour 
after its termination, Don Pablo requested many memorias to the 
American Commodore and governor, adding that he would be 
pleased to meet our commissioners, as soon as he was able to mount 
his horse, being at the time somewhat troubled with a complaint of 
the barrica. Then entrusted with a despatch, I had the honor of 
making my conge — Adios senores ! Adios ami go ! hasta luego ! and 
so we parted. 

There were one or two articles of the armistice that had been 
9* 



202 CHAPTER XXVIII. 



signed in Mexico, which could not have been intended to meet 
the exigencies of ports on the Pacific, and at the conference which 
ensued, the Mexicans, in return for relinquishing the alcobala, de- 
manded the privilege of collecting duties levied upon the coasting 
trade — it seemed a bagatelle that we might easily have conceded, 
for it was absolutely necessary that some means should be granted 
for their support. The commissioners, however, were not able to 
arrange the matter, and both parties separated in dudgeon. Anaya 
retired to the Presidio, the alcobala continued, and the merchants 
were extremely disappointed at the rupture ; for having a large 
amount of goods destined for Durango and the adjoining provinces, 
which had already passed our customs, they were unwilling to risk 
the transit before some positive arrangement had been established 
between the two parties. 

These official misunderstandings, however, did not prevent con- 
stant visits of the Mexican officers and their families to the port — a 
few of them were pleasant, conversible, intelligent gentlemen, but 
generally speaking, they were dirty, ill-bred persons, without moral 
principle, and the greatest liars in existence, and they invariably 
taxed one another with being cowards. Cn entering Mazatlan, 
they were obliged to register their names and report the time of 
departure. We were occasionally amused when they assured us 
they found great difficulty in the search for their amantes^ and 
had not been received with the same ardor of affection that so 
long an absence would have justified. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

During the period of our occupation of Mazaltan, the remain- 
ing ships of the squadron had not been idle along the neighboring 
shores of the gulf. The Port of Guaymas, on the Main, had 
been closely guarded by a sloop of war ; and notwithstanding the 
immense superiority of force, under the Mexican General, 
Campuzano — of five hundred regular troops — he had been at all 
times beaten, whenever attempting any demonstrations upon the 
town — on one occasion with the loss of twenty killed and forty 
wounded ; — affairs which sufficiently damped their ardor, and 
warned them to keep beyond the reach of their invaders. 

The Peninsula, also, had been the theatre of more serious 
struggles ; and as the events attending their history were in 
themselves characterised by the utmost gallantry, reflecting the 
highest degree of praise upon the actors, who bore their plumes 
most bravely ; and as they were, in fact, the only affairs of im- 
portance, which may be considered as shedding a ray of glory 
upon our arms, during the naval operations on the Mexican 
coast, I may be excused for relating them more in detail. 

It may be recollected, that prior to the departure of the 
squadron from Lower California, through urgent solicitations 
made by the respectable inhabitants, a small detachment of 



204 CHAPTER XXIX. 



marines, under command of Lieut. Charles Hey wood, U. S. N. t 
had been deputed to occupy the little town of San Jose. 

As I have before mentioned, the settlement is situated in a 
narrow valley, about a league at its greatest width on the gulf, 
and is rapidly wedged in, as it falls back into the interior, by con- 
verging walls of lofty barren mountains. It is fertilized by a swift 
little stream of pure water, which, in pleasing contrast to the 
parched arid hills around, brightens the landscape with many green 
patches of cultivated fields, fruits, and foliage. In the bosom of 
this little vale, upon a slight eminence, two miles from the bay, 
reposes the Mission— a village of some five hundred inhabitants — 
having a broad avenue running entirely through it, in a parallel 
line with the stream. At the upper end was a square adobie 
building, protected in the rear, by an abrupt descent to the base 
of the plain, and the front facing and looking down upon the 
whole length of the main street. This was designated as the 
Cuartel. On the right, and opposite angle, stood another com- 
modious dwelling, behind which a high wall enclosed a small 
court-yard : it was owned by an American, Mr. Mott, of Mazat- 
lan, and occupied by his agent, Mr. Eugene Gillespie — who as an 
amateur in the trying events that ensued, well won the guerdon of 
a brave and loyal gentleman. 

Immediately upon landing, on the 9th November, 1847, these 
two buildings were taken possession of, and the American fiag 
was displayed. The Cuartel was found to be in a very dilapidated 
condition, and to prevent the walls and roof from falling, cross- 
beams and pillars were used to prop the decayed timbers, while 
numbers of useless windows and doorways were closed up with 
masonry, leaving the main entrance and another portal in the 



SIEGE OF SAN JOSE. 205 



rear, where a platform was laid for more convenient travellings of 
a cannon. 

The low parapet which invariably surmounts the flat roofs or 
azoteas of Spanish houses, was raised sufficiently to afford a breast- 
high protection, and the walls were pierced at the commanding 
points, with loop-holes for musketry : this, with a trench between 
the two buildings, constituted the defences. 

The garrison numbered twenty-five, including the Commander 
and his four subordinates. This force, however, was swelled, in 
a numerical sense, by about twenty friendly natives, who, in 
seeking protection under the pledges conveyed in our proclama- 
tions, had timidly volunteered their services, in case of assault. 
Still, they were of but little effective aid, and, with their families, 
only served to reduce the provisions and uselessly waste the 
limited supply of ammunition with which the garrison had been 
furnished. The gun, too, was an unwieldy nine-pounder ship's 
carronade, moiv - slide, without wheels for easy 

transportation, or any of the conveniences necessary for nianceu- 
vering on land. It was planted in front of the Cuartel, to sweep 
the avenue with its fire. The force was divided between the two 
positions, and with but forty rounds of ball cartridges in the car- 
touche boxes, the little band calmly held then* ground. 

The California^ partisans who had enrolled themselves for 
guerrilla warfare on the Peninsula, were composed of mongrel 
bodies of desertei ■ and disbanded soldiers from the Main, together 
with divers Yachi Indians, and other disaffected vagabonds, who, 
having nothing to lose, and anxious for plunder, either from their 
own countrymen or their enemies, were indifferent by what means 
it was to be obtained. 

This force amounted in the aggregate to more than six hundred 



206 CHAPTER XXIX 



mounted men, tolerably well equipped with weapons, and com- 
manded by Pineda, Mexia, Moreno, Angulo, and Mejares. The 
last-named individual had been former Captain of the port of 
Mazatlan. He was a man of activity and desperate courage, for 
which last quality, at a later day, he paid the penalty with his 
life. 

The passions of these guerrillas had been violently inflamed by 
the persuasions and advice administered by a shrewd Mexican 
priest, named Gabriel Gonzales, who, fearing probably a loss of 
clerical influence among the native population, and inheriting, 
with all his race, a natural antipathy to the march of the Anglo- 
Saxon, consequent upon the secession of the territory, made unceas- 
ing efforts by every means in his power to have a strong blow 
struck for its salvation. He partially succeeded. 

The original scheme of the Mexican leaders was, in the first 
instance, to have made a concentrated attack upon the town of 
La Paz, at the time in possession of a company of the New York 
regiment, under Lt. Colonel Burton ; but perceiving the weakness 
of the force to contend against, in the small garrison of San Jose, 
and deeming it an easy prey, they divided their force, and with 
the moiety resolved upon its destruction. 

Hardly had the squadron disappeared below the horizon from 
San Jose, before reports came flying thick and fast, that a serious 
attack was contemplated. These rumors only infused renewed 
energy in the preparations for defence and resistance, nor was the 
garrison kept long in suspense. 

On the morning of the 19th, ten days after the sailing of the 
ships of war, a small cavalcade, bearing a banner of truce, entered 
tho village, and by a blast of trumpets demanded a parley. 
Possibly, to give additional weight to the summons, clouds of dust 



THE STORMING PARTY. 207 

were beheld rolling down the valley, and strong squadrons of cav- 
alry scouring the roads and underwood, in advance of their main 
body. The effect was not realized. The flag of truce was met 
by an equal number from the Cuartel, and a missive received, 
demanding, under the high appeal of Dios Patria y Libertad^ an 
immediate surrender, under penalty of the horrors of annihilation 
by a greatly superior force. The reply was prompt and decisive : 
the American commander regretting his inability to comply with 
the summons, and declaring his intention to defend his flag against 
all odds 

Negotiations being thus courteously terminated, the guerrillas, 
nearly two hundred strong, skirted the suburbs, and took up a 
position on the right of the American quarters, behind the church, 
on an elevation, three hundred and fifty yards distant, laterally 
commanding the town ; it was called La Lomita. 

During the afternoon the Mexican eagle and tricolor was un- 
furled, and with cheers and pealing bugles, they opened a fire 
from a six-pounder and musketry, continuing the work until dark. 
The shot, however, did but little damage to the soft adobie walls, 
save fracturing cornices or boring fresh apertures for loop holes ; 
nor was it judged prudent to return their salutes but rarely, inas- 
much as the carronade of the Cuartel could not, without much 
difficulty, be brought to bear upon the enemies' hill, and the 
limited supply of ammunition rendered it advisable to await closer 
quarters with the small arms. 

As night closed around the valley, there was a cessation of 
firing; the garrison remaining under arms momentarily antici- 
pating a more vigorous attack ; nor were they disappointed. By 
ten o'clock the besiegers had cautiously crept within close prox- 
imity to the occupied buildings, and with a field piece in the main 



208 CHAPTER XXIX. 



street^ began a simultaneous assault from all directions, front and 
rear. Showers of bullets flew into every hole and aperture of the 
Cuartel, whilst determined efforts were made to gain a lodgment 
in the opposite house : but they were severally repulsed with loss, 
and not an ounce of lead was thrown away, or powder idly burned 
without a definite object. Three of the garrison only, were 
wounded. 

A hot but ineffective fire was kept up by the assailants during 
the night, but at daylight the force was withdrawn again to the 
camp at La Lomita. All the following day the garrison were en- 
circled by the guerrillas, who maintained a brisk fire of musketry 
from behind the walls and parapets of adjoining dwellings. The 
disparity of numbers was too great to risk the chances of dislodg- 
ing them at the point of the bayonet. 

With the night the garrison were still under arms at their posts 
The plan of the guerrillas was to have stormed the front of the 
Cuartel with forty picked men, under cover of three field pieces , 
receive the discharge from the nine-pounder, rush in, and cap- 
ture it, whilst other bodies, provided with bars and ladders, were 
to scale the azoteas, and then pour in a destructive fire on the 
occupants below. In the end, these matured calculations were 
defeated : nevertheless, the positions were well chosen, and the 
Mexicans in readiness for the assault. Just before midnight the 
garrison- sentinels challenged : the hail was immediately answered 
by trumpets sounding a charge, and a heavy fire from guns and 
small arms ; at the same instant, Mejares, the commandant of 
artillery, with four of his followers, in leading the forlorn hope, 
were riddled by rifle balls from the besieged, whilst another in striv- 
ing to bear away the body of his comrade, fell mortally wounded 
on the same bloody heap. Deprived of the animating exam 



THE BRAVE WHALEMEN. 209 



pie of their leader, the storming parties faltered, thus disconcert- 
ing the entire movement, and they returned to their encampment 
without attempting further demonstrations that night. Eight 
newly made graves was the sole glory reaped in this abortive 
struggle. 

Meanwhile a series of vigorous attacks had already been com- 
menced upon the command at La Paz, but was repulsed by a 
stouter resistance than was anticipated ; equally unprepared for 
the gallant conduct of the little band at San Jose, and depressed 
by the loss of their leader, the guerrilla chiefs ordered their 
partisans to again unite in the north, for a combined movement 
upon La Paz — as had been originally intended. 

This course of action was considerably hastened, on the morn- 
ing of the 21st, by the appearance of two large vessels in the 
ofnng ; eventually proving to be the whale ships " Magnolia ;? and 
u Edward," of New Bedford — Captains Simmons and Barker — 
who learning from a launch, near Cape San Lucas, the state of 
affairs in San Jose, without a thought to their own interests, 
resolved to do the utmost for the garrison. Standing boldly into the 
bay, dropping anchor, discharging a cannon, and taking in sails 
together, they succeeded completely in deceiving the guerrillas, 
who were posted in strength on the beach to oppose a landing ; 
and who, under the belief that the ships were either men-of-war or 
transports, fell back to their camp, and shortly after retreated up 
the valley ; not, however, without giving a parting volley to the 
Cuartel, which was courteously returned by Mr. Gillespie, who 
knocked a trooper from his saddle by a rifle-bullet. 

On being informed of the straightened situation of their coun- 
trymen, these bold captains, with their brave crews, armed 
themselves with muskets, lances, spades, and harpoons from their 



210 CHAPTER XXIX. 



ships, and sixty in number at once landed, and marched to the 
Cuartel. The provisions and ammunition of the garrison had 
been nearly exhausted, and these resolute whale-men instantly 
brought on shore a quantity of bread — all the powder they pos- 
sessed, and even parted with hand and deep sea leads to mould 
into bullets ! Not contented with this, they formed into com- 
panies — were drilled — and evinced an enthusiasm to do good battle 
for those they had so generously and disinterestedly succored. 
Not only were these gallant deeds undertaken without solicitation, 
but they nobly gave food and raiment to many of the timid 
peasantry received on board their ships. If any more admirable 
patriotism can be shown than this, let it be inscribed in grateful 
remembrance, with the names of Simmons and Barker ! 

A few days later a government transport and corvette arrived : 
the garrison was supplied with two more carronade guns, and an 
abundance of ammunition and provisions. The quarters were 
considerably strengthened, and an adobie bastion, with four 
embrasures raised in front of the Cuartel. The force was also 
increased by ten marines, and sixteen men whose terms of service 
had not quite expired ; many of whom were invalids, and were 
thus merely a make-weight upon those they had been detailed to 
assist. 

For a month all remained quiet in the vicinity — the guerrillas 
had fallen back upon La Paz. Reports, however, gave every indi- 
cation that another and more serious attack was contemplated 
upon San" Jose ; but, notwithstanding this state of affairs, and the 
events which had transpired, the commander of the corvette saw 
no further cause for alarm, and being homeward-bound, sailed 
for the United States. The bold whalers had also lon2 since 



THE SECOND ATTACK. 211 

departed — although not until their services had been no more 
required — and at length the bay was once more deserted. 

No longer deterred by the men-of-war, the guerrillas, having 
been baffled in their demonstrations upon La Paz, again resolved 
to attempt the reduction of San Jose, with such an overwhelming 
force as to place the result beyond a doubt. Accordingly, 
breaking up their camp, with three hundred cavalry, they entered 
the lower valley on the 15th of January. For a week they were 
posted within a league of the village, whilst detached portions 
were employed driving off cattle and horses, destroying the crops, 
and intercepting all communication with the interior. On the 
21st, a small schooner anchored in the bay, having some articles 
for the garrison. The following morning, the sea road appearing 
free from the enemy, two officers and five men, well armed and 
mounted, started to communicate with the vessel. On gaining 
the beach, they were surrounded by an ambuscade of one hundred 
and fifty guerrillas, and taken prisoners. Shortly afterwards, they 
were carried up the valley : with pain and anxiety, their friends 
saw them from the Cuartel, without the means of affording 
them relief. Emboldened by this success, which was indeed a 
bitter loss to the little garrison, the guerrillas contracted their 
lines, and each day found them nearer the town. Again the 
besieged and the native residents, with their families, were 
obliged to keep closely within their quarters. Step by step the 
enemy after gaining the main avenue, pierced the buildings on 
either hand, and cutting trenches across the transverse lanes, 
they succeeded in forcing a passage, entirely concealed from view, 
until they gained complete possession of the town. And in an 
adobie house, within fifty yards of the American battery, the walls, 



212 CHAPTER XXIX. 



already three feet in thickness, were increased by planting stakes 
inside, which were filled up with hard timber and sand ; and such 
was its strength, that twelve-pound shot, fired at forty yards, 
made no perceptible impression : from the azotea of this entrench- 
ment the Mexican flag floated in defiance. 

Besides these annoyances, almost every dwelling in the street 
was loopholed, occupied and protected by heavy angular barricades 
of pickets and earth, making safe points for the use of musketry, 
while the church and surrounding eminences were strongly 
guarded. 

During these operations the garrison had not been merely spec- 
tators. They made a number of sorties, with the loss of but one 
man killed, and succeeded in saving a small quantity of rice. But 
by the 10th of February, the guerrillas had entire possession of 
the town, and from front, sides and rear of the Cuartel, they 
were enabled to throw a raking fire. From that time forth, the 
fusillade was incessant ; the least exposure of person being made 
the target for a, simultaneous discharge of fifty bullets ; and from 
long practice they were found well skilled in handling their 
weapons — pouring the lead in at every aperture. 

On the afternoon of the 11th, the garrison had to lament the 
death of the second in command, Passed Midshipman Tenant 
McLenahan. While engaged at his duties on the azotea, amid a 
shower of deadly missiles, he was struck down by a bullet in the 
throat, and fell with one hand clasping the flagstaff that upheld 
the colors he had so intrepidly defended. He was a young officer 
of undaunted resolution, courageous and energetic. He expired 
two hours after being wounded, and was buried in rear of the 
Cuartel, while the sharp whistling of bullets and reports of cannon 



AN OFFICER KILLED. 213 



echoed over his untimely grave — a fitting requiem for the noble 
spirit that had taken its flight.* 

The commander and a single officer were now all that remained. 
The whole garrison numbered but sixty, including sick, wounded, 
and twenty of the enrolled natives ; the buildings were crowded 
to excess with women and children ; they were to be fed ; provis- 
ions were becoming scarce ; bread was entirely gone, and naught 
remained, save a few days' salt meat on half an allowance. In 
addition to the wanj of these necessaries, the assailants had cut 
off the access to the stream in rear of the Cuartel, or at least so 
enveloped the outlets and approaches to the pools — by screens of 
sand and barricades of pickets — as to make it a matter of almost 
certain death to seek water, either by day or night. There was 
no other course to pursue than the arduous task of digging a well 
within the walls. This, by the most untiring exertions, was 
finally accomplished, by boring thirty feet through the solid rock. 

In such an emergency, surrounded by nearly ten times their' 
numbers, less undaunted spirits might reasonably have succumbed 
to the perils of a seige that was hourly becoming more straitened. 
But the beleagured little garrison, though a small band, were true 
to themselves. There were neither murmurs nor thoughts of sur- 
render — they still vigilantly guarded the defences — with but limited 
rest or food — while the bullets and shot of the besiegers flew in 
by the loop-holes, or plunged through the walls. Yet there was 
no flinching — ever on the alert — for hours and hours they watched 
the enemy, and wo betide the adventurous guerrilla, who, becoming 
rash from fancied security, exposed an inch of flesh ! the leaden 

* On an eminence overlooking the bay, a small white railing and tablet mark the 
spot where the remains of poor McLenahan were subsequently buried, with tho 
honors of war. 



214 ' CHAPTER XXIX 



messenger from some deadly carbine gave sad warning to his 
comrades. 

It was evidently the intention of the guerrillas to starve the 
garrison into submission, who had already sustained a close seige of 
more than four weeks, resisted many determined assaults, and made 
a number of successful sorties. Yet their position had become 
eminently critical, and without speedy relief, their well-defended 
flag would have to be hauled down. It did not hang upon the 
simple results devolving upon capture. They felt no greater 
uneasiness on that score than commonly falls to the lot of the 
vanquished in civilized warfare. But the innocent inhabitants, 
who had sought refuge under the inducements held forth by our 
proclamations, and who trustingly relied upon American arms to 
shield them from the inevitable fate to which they were to be 
devoted by those whose vindictive hate and malice they had pro- 
voked — and whose gritos — cries — resounded from every house- 
top, singling out by name, with bitter taunts and revilings, those 
most obnoxious, and the doom in store for their apostacy — were 
the causes that still nerved the hearts of their defenders. 

Joyfully, on the evening of the 14th of February, the garrison 
beheld a ship of war sail into the bay, and though apprehensive 
that the opposition would be too great to admit of a landing, yet 
at daylight the following morning an hundred of the crew disem- 
barked, and soon after, the musketry from the Mexicans opened 
upon them. The odds were four to one ; but steadily the seamen 
rushed on, pouring in their fire, and fighting their way, pace by 
pace, until met by a party from the Cuartel, when the guerrillas 
retreated, with a loss of fifteen killed and thirty-five wounded. 
Thus was the little band relieved, their wants attended to, and 
the sick and wounded cared for. The enemy, baffled in their 



THE GARRISON RELIEVED. 215 



enterprise, and deterred by the presence of the corvette, deserted 
the valley for the interior. 

A month later, Captain Steele, of the New York volunteers, 
with thirty mounted men, left La Paz, and after a flying march of 
sixty miles, reached San Antonio, when, dashing into the plaza, 
they put the garrison to flight; rescued the party captured at 
San Jose, and returned to their post, with the loss of but one man 
killed — having performed the entire distance of one hundred and 
thirty miles within thirty hours ! Such gallant little forays need 
no comment. The prisoners had been treated with extreme 
kindness, and although moved from place to place, never experi- 
enced the slightest insult or injury. 

Early in April, Lt. Col. Burton's command being reinforced by 
another company from the upper territory, with one hundred and 
fifty of the volunteers, moved towards the interior ; while seventy- 
five seamen and marines left San Jose to form a junction at San 
Antonio. Before the bodies united, Lt. Col. Burton, with his 
troops, came up with the guerrillas, three hundred and fifty strong, 
at Todos Santos, and after a severe action, totally defeated them, 
taking many prisoners and their leaders. By the close of the 
month, the town of San Jose was occupied by Captain Naglee, 
of the volunteers, and the naval force was withdrawn. 

Thus ended the war on the peninsula of California. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Early in the month of May, the Ohio, 74, arrived at Mazat- 
lan. On the 8th, I was ordered to prepare for a journey to the city 
of Mexico — my preparations were made in five minutes ; merely a 
saddle, sabre, spurs, pistols, undress jacket, riding trowsers and 
serapa. The same night I rode to the Presidio, where General 
Anaya politely furnished me with a special passport, and afforded 
every facility to expedite the journey through his immediate com- 
mand. Returning to the port at daylight, a letter of credit await- 
ed me, which, with a dispatch enclosed in oiled silk and concealed 
in the lining of my jacket, completed my arrangements. A ship of 
war had been ordered to land me at San Bias, a port some one hun- 
dred and thirty miles down the coast, and considered the nearest 
practicable route to Mexico. I was to be accompanied by a Mexi- 
can officer, a dark pop-eyed little man, of a quiet and gentlemanly 
demeanor, who was bound on a mission to his own government, 
and took passage with us in the frigate. 

Attended by light flyaway airs and calms, we were nearly three 
days in accomplishing the short distance of the voyage, and it 
was not until nightfall of the 13th, that the good ship lay be- 
calmed a few miles from the shore. With my fellow traveller, I 
was tossed into a boat, and after a smart pull of two hours, we 
were safely landed up a narrow estero, on the banks of which was 



WE REACH SAN BLAS. 217 



placed the little town of San Bias, apparently overstocked with 
musquitos. A letter to a Chinaman, named Passio, made him 
yell for his servants ; before midnight had struck, after embracing 
a number of officers from two of our ships at anchor there, 
we went pacing away through the thick foliage, answering 
to the echo the loud shouts of the friends left behind — it was 
thus began my rough notes and jolts on a Mexican saddle. We 
were accompanied by a guide, and a pack-mule for my com- 
panion's portmanteau. My wardrobe did not require one — 
consisting of two shirts and a tooth-brush. 

The horse I bestrode was not very beautiful to behold, cer- 
tainly — being what is technically termed in animal structure — a 
singed cat ; but nevertheless he rattled along bravely, without a 
jolt, plunge, or stumble, and we got on famously together. We 
contrived to while away miles and hours, coursing along the 
marismas of the sea, with a clear bright moon to light us ; joy 
winding through magnificent forests of sycamore and pine, 
beneath dense thickets, arched with vines, cactus and acacia ; — 
grouped here and there with palmettos, or cocoanuts, crackling in 
the breeze — and looking for all the world like long-legged trowser- 
less turbaned Turks. The scene was quite exhilarating, and even 
my comrade allowed his huge moustache to be parted ; but whether 
owing to the pure air, and excitement of the ride, or the yet purer 
brandy from his alforgas, his hitherto taciturn tongue was let 
loose, and we became bosom friends on the spot. He had put suf- 
ficient in his mouth to steel away his brains, and not a little to my 
surprise — though I expressed none — he shortly proposed to me a 
capital plan of cheating the government : that by keeping 
together — he being empowered to take horses for nothing — we 
might charge the full amount, and halve the proceeds. I readily 
10 



218 ' CHAPTER XXX. 



assented, sealed the bargain by a squeeze that nearly wrenched 
him from the saddle, and resolved to cut his fascinating society at 
the first convenient opportunity. This gentleman bore the repu- 
tation of being one out of a few honest officers in the Mexican 
army. However, it is but justice to state that these little sins of 
commission are not regarded in so serious a light as with us ; 
although I could not help speculating on the beautiful moral 
attributes possessed by the remainder of the army. They have a 
very trite saying, which hits their case precisely : Primer 'o jo, 
pues mi padre — me first, then daddy. 

At about three o'clock we had left the grounds bordering upon 
the ocean, for the first step to the temperate terrace. Alighting 
at a large rancho, we unceremoniously aroused some sleeping 
figures — had a mess of scrambled eggs — thence to horse again. We 
soon gained the highland, by bridle-paths skirting along crests of 
hills and ravines, until daylight found us ambling from one to the 
other, in an everlasting up-and-down route, both tiresome and 
monotonous. Eight leagues of this work brought us to the more 
elevated region of the plateau — a more open country, with now and 
then a rancho — cultivated fields — broader roads, and all the signs 
of approaching a large town ; then in a moment the view opened 
upon a broad, lovely plain, framed in by three noble swells of 
sierras, and before us lay long lines of buildings and gardens, with a 
thin stream winding down the slopes, like a white thread — and this 
was Tepic. Leaving my companero at a meson, I swung myself 
from the saddle, after a twenty-eight leagues ride, within the 
spacious patio of an American gentleman's house, to whom I was 
regularly endorsed — Mr. Bissell. He received me in the kindest 
manner possible — washed, shaved and breakfasted me, and put 
all in train for a renewed start by night. We called on the Com- 



COTTON MILLS OF TEPIC. 219 



mandante Aristi, who declared the inexpressible pleasure he ex- 
perienced at the sight of me, signed my passport, and bowed us 
most politely out of the house, even to the furthermost door-step. 
This state visit over, I took a sound nap, and was aroused in 
season for a bath. We rode to the green suburbs of the town, 
where were nice thatched sheds stretching half way over a rapid 
stream. After a refreshing swim, and a sip of lemonade filled 
with caraway seeds, we returned to dine on delightful brook trout, 
and pleasant vinous accompaniments. The horses were again 
equipped, and making a tour of the city, we stopped at the cotton 
mills belonging to the wealthy English house of Barron, Forbes & 
Co. The Fabrica stands at the base of a steep hillete — composed 
of large white buildings, encircled by high walls on three sides, and 
the fourth facing an impetuous torrent, from which a strong body of 
water is diverted to drive the machinery. The banks were hand- 
somely walled up, and laid out in parterres, prettily planted with 
shrubbery, all bearing the impress of great care and beauty. 
Further down the stream was an extensive garden, with broad 
alleys, arbors and spacious tanks, teeming with fruits, flowers and 
exotics of the rarest kinds. 

The senior owner of the manufactory, Mr. Forbes, did the 
honor to play cicerone, and take me over the works. There 
were about five thousand spindles in operation ; then working 
day and night. The machinery was a beautiful specimen of 
American ingenuity ; nearly all the overseers, and the intel- 
ligent superintendent, Mr. Whiting, boasted of the same origin. 
None but coarser fabrics, suitable for the Mexican market, were 
milled ; but the profits were enormous, having netted the previous 
year a fraction less than two hundred thousand dollars. The 



220 CHAPTER XXX. 



operatives were all natives ; and although, I was told, without the 
wish or energy to rise, still they did very well in the work required. 

I never saw out of Europe or the United States, or Continental 
America, or in even the British Colonies, such extensive improve- 
ments keeping so close a wake to the rushing march of the age ; 
all, however, begun and matured by the indomitable skill and 
enterprise of the intelligent owners. 

I left Tepic two hours before midnight, and made all sail under 
a heavy press of spurs and stirrups. I said adios to the Capitan, 
who assured me his frame was deplorably jolted, and that he felt 
unable to proceed. The fact was, the Don carried too much 
weight for anything beyond a quarter stretch. I was recom- 
pensed for the loss of his society by the attendance of two dark 
mozos as guides, and three spare horses ; but with the beasts I 
must confess having been decidedly duped: I booked them to 
Guadalajara, but they were neither swift nor well gaited. My 
attendants expressed great regret, as a matter of course, which did 
not prevent the avalanche of blessings with which they were 
indulged. At sunrise we dismounted a minute, for coffee, at a 
small village, with an unpronouncable jaw-cracking Indian name. 
It was a very pretty spot, shrubby and treesy, with a noisy 
rivulet washing the door-steps of an old ruined chapel. A bare- 
footed damsel was quite attentive to my pencilling occupations, 
and with an inquisitive frown and nod, as much as to inquire — 
" What on earth is he about ? " — handed me a little glazed pot of 
wheat-coffee ; but being a courier of the grand route, and having 
no time to satisfy the muchachita's curiosity, I swallowed the 
beverage, threw her a peseta, and while she was hunting for the 
change, we were in the saddle and off. At ten of the clock we 
halted at the hamlet of Ocultilti, in front of a little mud-built 



JOURNEY TO xMEXICO 221 

fonda, where, for a Mexican miracle, was laid a tolerably clean 
clotli upon a table. The road thus far had been hilly and rugged, 
and the last five miles a tedious clamber over a mountain-pass. 
My horses had given out, and I felt a strong inclination to shoot 
the lying guides for imposing on me ; but the patrona of the inn 
sent every boy in the place scampering in search of fresh horses, 
while she busied herself at the fire getting a breakfast of ever- 
lasting frijoles. In reply to my anxiety for more beasts, she 
continually repeated — Quien sabe ! hay muchos ! si Senor ! — in this 
part of Mexico the oft-repeated exclamation — Who knows ! there 
are thousands ! Presently appeared two ragged, filthy Indians. 
They approached each other, tipped their broad sombreros, at an 
angle like to the rings of Saturn. Como estd vd ? Muy bueno ! Me 
allegro, y la familia ? Para servir vd ! They kept up this strain 
of compliment for ten minutes, neither letting go hands nor hats — 
until my patience becoming exhausted at such fatigeing polite- 
ness — I let the lash of my whip fall lovingly around their legs. 
" I say, my fine fellows, are there any horses to be had ? " 
Quein sabe ! Senor, hay muchos ! they both replied in a breath ; 
but nothing more satisfactory could I learn. The boys never 
came back ! the mistress became less civil after getting paid for 
her breakfasts ; and after vainly waiting an hour, I felt convinced 
there was not a four-legged brute in the hamlet, or that the two- 
legged ones were too lazy to find them. Selecting the best of 
our spavined jades, we stumped slowly on, and a league beyond 
came to a post-house ; here a good-natured dame, in the absence 
of her helpmate, mounted a mule, and soon drove up a cavallada. 
Transferring the saddles to better beasts, and followed by a 
diminutive elf, to bring them back, we continued our journey. 
The roads became smoother, and less broken ; the country pre- 



222 ' CHAPTER XXX. 



sented a more smiling aspect : green fields of grain, and cultivated 
plantations of the argave, covered the sides of hills and valleys. 
Pursuing a course through a well-watered district, without any 
evidences visible of volcanic origin, our road was suddenly 
closed by a very curious lava formation — an elevation not in 
the highest parts more than eighty feet — springing strangely and 
abruptly from the table land of the vale. There were acres upon 
acres of black volcanic masses thrown up into the most fantastic 
shapes ; there were churches and altars, castles and coaches, 
figures of men and monkeys — with clusters of straight, slender 
cactus, in full flower, shooting far above all — rearing their white 
and red torch-like heads, as if to light up the black congregation 
below ; which from a distance struck me as bearing a miniature 
resemblance to the Giant's Causeway. We passed this barrier, 
over a deep cut of slippery aqueous lava, when we again debouched 
into the vega, took a lave in a cool, clear torrent, and then came 
on at a great pace to the town of Aguacatlan. 

From a hasty glance it appeared a nice place, and we drew up 
at a spacious meson, facing a pretty plaza, lined by magnificent 
rows of elms, with a handsome church in front. All looked gay 
withal : troops of vagabonds and girls were passing and repassing 
the portals. In a lofty hall of the Fonda, I had an excellent supper, 
washed down by a flask of capital bordeaux, which, the maestro 
informed me, had lain an unsaleable drug on his hands for eleven 
yea vs. Passing from the sala to a shop in the building, I found a 
crowd of idlers, absorbing cigarillos and hearkening to the har- 
rangue of a stout fellow, shrouded in a seedy serapa : he was 
striving to awaken their patriotism by violently declaiming against 
the policy of the Mexican government, for tolerating an idea of 
peace, and lavishing a fair share of abuse upon the Yankees. 



PATRIOTIC ACQUAINTANCE. 223 

Christo! Senores! said he, "why didn't General Skote attack 
Pinon, where all was prepared for him, instead of creeping 
around the valley to Churubusco? Answer me that! Porque 
Sehores les Yankis son cobardes ! todos ! toditos /" — Because every 
mother's son of the Americans were cowards. Upon the conclu- 
sion of this speech, he honored me with a close inspection, and 
apparently not being satisfied, touched his castor by way of formal 
introduction. " Capitan," he suggested, "you belong to the 
cavalry." I nodded. " Ay, he knew that by my divisas — shoul- 
der-straps — but he mistook me at first for one of the San Patricios. 
Where was I bound?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Did I know 
Mazatlan ?" I had been there. This last admission quite won 
his confidence ; so, grasping me by the elbow, he drew me aside, 
and informed me that he was on a mission to that port for the 
purchase of arms to put in the hands of flaming red-hot patriots 
in Guadalajara ; and that any intelligence to further his designs 
would be highly acceptable. I, of course, gave him all necessary 
information, and at the same time dropt a line by the post, which 
was the means of giving him an opportunity to inspect vacant 
apartments in the carcelj for some weeks after his arrival. Having 
no more time to waste, I left the good people to pump my mozos, 
whilst I took a short nap. 

Before midnight, nerved by a cup of strong coffee, we mounted, 
and six leagues of rapid riding carried us to the post-house of 
Istlan. There was just light enough by the moon to reveal all the 
quiet beauty of the little town. The square was deserted ; not a 
dog bayed ; the noble trees with drooping branches reposed motion- 
less in the air ; not a sound was heard but the uneasy plashing of 
the sparkling fountain in the centre ; and there was not a vestige 
of life, save a solitary twinkling taper that shone through the open 



224 CHAPTER XXX. 



door of the post-house. Our shouts echoed back from the tall 
walls of the church on the opposite side of the plaza, and soon 
brought a gruff personage to the street. It was the administrador 
himself. He inquired, what demonios dared to raise such a din, 
when his venerable sire, Don Pancho, was stretched upon the 
bier, and masses to be said for his soul as soon as day dawned ? 
I have ever remarked, that the safest mode of treating perverse, 
obstinate persons, who are resolved to quarrel, is to approach 
close to them, in a moral sense, and — like to dealing with a fierce 
ram by patting him on the tail — they have no space to rear 
and pitch into one. It is time enough to bid defiance when this 
system fails. Bowing to the saddle-bow, hat in hand, I thus 
began : " Pardon me, my good friend ! had we known of your 
bereavement, be assured we should have torn our teeth out, rather 
than have disturbed your grief: we are bound extra or dinar io ! 
If there be no horses, at least oblige us with a cup of water to 
wash down a measure of this oily licor from the grand Meson 
of Aguacatlan, and oblige us by touching it first to your 
own lips!" I saw by the moon's silver beams athwart his rubi- 
cund visage, that he relented ; whereupon, paying him some 
sorrowful compliments upon the demise of his aged parent, I quite 
conquered his anger. Leaving me in charge of the defunct old 
gentleman, I puffed a cigarillo, while he went to get beasts for 
the guides, and his own mule for my use, as he assured me, 
bueno y muy vivo — lively as a cricket. In a few minutes we 
were again upon the road. Skirting along the banks of a small 
river for a couple of leagues, we then crossed to the opposite side, 
where hills arose in endless succession, soaring to the clouds in 
the distance, and where we were destined to pass. It was the 
Plan de Barrancas. I had for the past hour been venting 



PLAN DE BARRANCAS. 225 



maledictions on the administrador and his vivo mule, for I never 
saw any but monks and muleteers who properly understand their 
peculiar management. To one, like myself, ignorant of the 
habits of these quadrupeds — never mind how expert a horseman 
he may be — if they ever be urged out of their usual amble on 
a level space, their gallop is such a jerking short pace, that 
the inexperienced rider will be kept alternately shifting his 
position from withers to rump, at every stride. But commend 
me to a good mule, over a broken country, where their delicate 
little hoofs find a secure foothold over shelving rocks, or upon the 
brink of a yawning precipice, where you drop the bridle, close 
your eyes and offer up an orison for your blessed mule to bear 
you safely. And with what sagacity they feel their way, and how 
often an imprudent rider will find cause to bless his stars that the 
wilful little beast takes the bit in the mouth, and obstinately 
pursues his own path ! However, as I said before, they are not 
pleasant animals when the danger is passed ; then they become 
at times unreasonably perverse, and persuasions, punchings, or 
spurrings, only serve to exhaust strength and temper, without any 
avail. 

Our speed became necessarily slow, the country more and more 
barren, and the paths stony and uneven ; still we passed from 
height to height, gradually ascending, until we came to the base 
of the great Barrancas. Here, much to my surprise, commenced 
a well-constructed military road, very broad, and coped in by a 
wall of loose stones, winding around the eastern brow of the sierra. 
In some places near the summit, I am confident, a dollar could be 
thrown four thousand feet before striking the base of the gorge 
that splits the great chain asunder. The view was bird-eyish, and 
10* 



226 CHAPTER XXX. 



rather good — with the bright green dells below, in pretty contrast 
to the red basaltic rocks above— but limited by peaks of the 
surrounding; heights. The road itself is a far more substantial 
work than the traveller is prepared to meet with in this part of 
Mexico, where everything relative to easy locomotion appears to 
have been left as nature and the mules will it. Still, but little 
reputation is lost in the way of consistency ; for the moment the 
mountain is passed, the route again becomes little better than a 
sheep path. Although crossing this fine road caused me some aston- 
ishment ; yet a little before, I was thrown into a stupor of amaze- 
ment, to behold lying in the pathway a long iron thirty-two pounder 
gun, of the heaviest ship's calibre and weight! My mozos 
informed me, that this was the only one out of six that did not 
reach Guadalajara from San Bias — a distance of more than three 
hundred miles ! They were intended for service in battery, 
during the revolt of 1825. Each was under the guidance of one 
hundred and fifty Indians with animals, and it occupied many 
months in accomplishing the transit ; but notwithstanding these 
ample means, I'll venture to affirm that no one in his natural 
senses, after making the journey, could be induced to believe that 
anything greater than a mule-pack — to say nothing of an enor- 
mous piece of ordnance — could be transported over such numbers 
of streams, ravines, paths and mountains ! The thing seems 
nearly impossible. 

We toiled over the Barrancas — threaded the valleys below, 
when taking another ascent, we attained a level, barren unculti- 
vated region, and shortly drew bridles at the great Meson of 
Muckatilta. From an outside view of the spacious inn — its 
fanciful frescos, and highly brilliant exterior — we reasonably 
inferred that something even more delectable might be found 



MADALENA. 227 



within. Yet although the patrona was neither ill-looking nor 
ill-natured, she siento ^d muehissimo, and still declared there 
was naught more palatable than frijoles. However, our appetites 
were keen, and we made a good deal go a little way, for we had 
ridden nineteen leagues since midnight. Bidding adieu to my 
vivo mule, by patting his sleek neck — not the least the worse for 
his work, while the horses were well nigh done up, — I gave him 
a loaf of bread, in gratitude for bearing me safely. With a fresh 
relay of horses, and the sun on the meridian, we left the brightly- 
painted meson, and continued our journey. Ever since mounting 
up to the tierra tcmjplada^ near Tepic, the climate had been 
delightful — neither uncomfortably warm during the day, nor 
too cool to travel with a serapa at night. By urging our cattle 
we made ten leagues, and reached the town of Madalena at 
twilight, where a stubborn old administrador refused to give me a 
change of horses. The fact was I deceived myself, in supposing 
the journey could be made as quickly by taking a cavallacla from 
one city to another, as by the government post ; and through 
ignorance of the formalities, I had omitted to take out a license. 
It is a very simple process, and consists in merely paying 
exorbitantly, at about the rate of a third of a dollar per league 
for the privilege of demanding beasts from agents on the roads — 
that is supposing they are to be had, and generally they are 
not ; but if there chance to be found any beasts in the corral, they 
are such horrid brutes, as not to be worth, even to a cunning 
cabman, the rial you are to pay per league. These are the 
animals pertaining to the Republic. After a mournful inspec- 
tion of their raw hides and protruding ribs, the administrador 
mav possibly hint that if the traveller requires a good horse 
there are two or three belonging to a neighbor that might be pro- 



228 CHAPTER XXX. 



cured by paying over and over the legal charge. This system of 
corruption is the chief cause of the heavy expense of travelling 
in Mexico : honesty in its lightest sense is unknown, and the 
principle throughout nearly all classes is one of fraud and extor- 
tion. Indeed if the rage for foreign travel ever leads our rising 
generations to extend their tours to these lands, their respectable 
governors will deserve much sympathy on cashing the bills, and 
perhaps be induced to believe that their progeny have fallen 
among the Philistines. 

Finding nothing was to be gained from the Madelena pro- 
prietor of horse-flesh, I betook myself to the Alcalde ; my special 
passport making it imperative on all military and civil authorities 
to afford me succor, sustenance, and all sorts of ausilios — that is 
if they deemed advisable ; — but I depended more upon the yellow 
on9as in my trowsers -pocket, which gave a zest to their exertions, 
and did not render them lukewarm in complying with the orders 
conveyed in the passport. The townspeople were under arms, and 
a guard of some thirty paisanos were assembled outside the court- 
room. They received me with a " present arms," and one adept 
in soldiership let his musket fall to the stone floor, exploding the 
piece, and driving a mass of paper wads, and a quantity of slugs, 
over the gateway ; whereupon they all put by their weapons, and 
whacked the unfortunate victim over the head with sabres. My 
terror subsiding, I presented myself to the Alcalde, whom I found — 
mirabile dictu — quite a civil, intelligent young man. He informed 
me that, a strong body of highwaymen had occupied a hill within a 
league cf the town, and every evening succeeded in carrying off 
what they required, by breaking into houses, maltreating the 
residents, and robbing every man, woman, and child on the 
road. He strongly urged me to defer my journey until troops 



WE DISAPPOINT THE ROBBERS. 229 



which were expected, could arrive, and in this he was seconded 
by a number of travellers, who were also awaiting safe convoy. 
The advice, though well intended, was far from changing my 
purpose to proceed, and after receipting for the value of the horses 
in case of capture, I prepared for a start. There being no 
regular soldiers in the place, no money could induce the timid 
paisanos to act as escort ; and then I began to discover the true 
value of my guides. They had been under the ban of my dis- 
pleasure for cheating me with their beasts ; but they had 
determined faces, and in reply to my question if they intended 
to fight, both exclaimed, Hasta mucrto ! Senor — until death ! — 
this restored them to favor. Entrusting each with a sum of 
money, I drew the loads from their carbines, carefully recharged 
them with balls and buck-shot, looked to my own pistols, and 
mounted. Moving quietly through the back streets of the town, 
we struck the main road, where we encountered a poor Padre 
who had been robbed of seventeen dollars, relieved of his mule, 
and stripped of all his raiment, save gown and cravat. Santa 
Maria ! said my mozos — " no respect for the church ! " The 
good priest gave us his blessing, and the exact position of the 
villains. Adios, mi padre ! It was eleven at night, the moon was 
rising, and we kept the horses nearly as possible in the shade of the 
roadside foliage — going very leisurely — until on the slope of a hill 
to the right, we saw a number of fires casting a lurid blaze around, 
and figures moving before them. Approaching nearer, a din of 
shouts, chaunts, and laughter, saluted our ears, for the rogues 
were evidently making merry over their potations. The road 
sounded hollow over the hard clay, and on descending a narrow 
canal-like passage, that just left our heads visible above, we un- 
slung carbines, and with cocked weapons, I gave the word — 



230 CHAPTER XXX. 



Vamanos — let us fly. The noise of horses' hoofs thundering over 
the hard ground instantly attracted attention ; we were greeted by 
loud yells of Quien es ? halta ! halt a ! — and plainly saw a score 
or more running to intercept us, with the barrels of their arms 
glancing in the moonlight ; but deuce the syllable did we utter, 
but driving the spur yet deeper into our steeds, we went flying 
along, single file ; in thirty seconds we were shielded by a high 
wall of rocks, and in a short time had lost sight and sound of our 
pursuers. I think they were quite unprepared for travellers at so 
late an hour, or our flight could easily have been barred. Yet 
it is anything else than a joke, to be encircled by a legion of these 
scamps — stripped starta naked — certainly beaten and robbed — or 
perhaps shot. Besides there are so many nice secluded spots, where, 
like Fra Diavolo, " on a rock reclining," behind a jutting ledge, 
or precipice, these rascals could insinuate the dark barrel of a 
carbine in one's ear, and cry Entregarse, o no la Vida ! — sur- 
render, or your life !-*- Not pleasant, surely, and I was delighted 
to escape scot free — clothed in my breeks. 

At full gallop we rode into the town of Tequilla : considerably 
fatigued, for I had not slept in forty hours, excepting perhaps 
now and then a brief cat-nap in the saddle — of a second or two 
duration — wherein one may dream of years of adventure. How- 
ever, I determined to hold on twelve leagues beyond, to Guada- 
lajara. It was daylight, and I found Tequilla quite a large place : 
with picturesque church, clusters of fine trees, all snugly posed in a 
bowl-like valley — fertile and well watered, with extensive planta- 
tions of the argave extending far as the eye could compass, over 
the neighboring country. 

Whilst a relay of horses were being sent for, the landlord of 
the meson accompanied me to a running brook, where I cooled 



CITY OF GUADALAJARA 231 



my jolted frame — swallowed a bowl of coffee, lit a cigar, and 
learned that we were the first travellers who had passed in five 
days, and that a detachment of cavalry was hourly looked for, to 
dislodge the rogues near Madelena. Feeling now indifferent about 
the matter, we got into the saddle, and once more gave spur 
towards our destination. The road was tolerable, the horses were 
better, and the country became more populous. Once the 
grateful steam of fried fish involuntarily caused me to halt for a 
hasty breakfast; but it was only for a moment — when on we 
rushed, up hill and down slope, splashing over water-courses — 
passing huge, ungainly carts with hewn timber wheels, creaking 
and groaning to market, while vehicles also of a more modern build 
lumbered slowly along, with six or eight mules ahead. Then I 
doffed my sombrero to a gay young officer in advance of a well- 
appointed troop of cavalry, and, with horses white with foam, we 
dismounted at the outer garita of Guadalajara. It was a small 
village and military post, seven leagues from the city, having a 
great stone arch and gateway commanding the road. Another 
relay, and an hour's gallop brought the spires and towers of the 
goodly town in sight — standing in the midst of an immense plain, 
and watered by a branch of the Rio Grande. Passing through a 
town, with a noble church and convent, we crossed the river by 
a substantial stone bridge, where stood statues of Santa Anna and 
other patriots, with their noses knocked off, and faces other- 
wise scarified. After being detained for inspection at a guard- 
house, we entered the city proper, through long lines of paved 
streets, until we pulled up in front of the palace, at the house 
of Don Domingo Llamas, to whom I had letters. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

Guadalajara is a beautiful city, of an hundred thousand 
people, laid out in broad, regular streets, with solid and imposing 
houses, painted outside gaily in frescoes — and plazas, fountains, 
shady alaniedas, richly adorned churches, and fine public buildings. 
It is the capital of the populous province of Jalisco, famed for its 
wealth, and only second in importance to the city of Mexico itself. 
The crowds of well-dressed pedestrians that thronged the streets 
and squares, the well-appointed troops, elegance of the buildings, 
and smart appearance of equipages and dashing horsemen, all gave 
the air, even at a rapid glance, of great ease and opulence. 

The gentleman to whom I was endorsed, Senor Llamas, had 
been in early life an arr iero, but by the force of merit and ability 
he had urged himself to his level, and became a person of immense 
wealth, universally respected, and occupying a place of high 
judicial trust under the state. He possessed more energy, quick- 
ness and enthusiasm, than any Mexican I met with, before or 
since. After arranging in the minutest details everything for my 
comfort and speed on the road, I went to a very good stopping- 
place, the Fonda de Dilige%cia. Here I bathed, and slept until 
the streets became noisy with vehicles and horses passing for the 
afternoon's drive. Facing my balcony, in an opposite dwelling, 
there appeared a lady of exceeding beauty, or, as the porter of the 



THE LOVELY SENORA. 233 



hotel told me in reply to my exclamation, Si Senor ! bonita como 
un peso — lovely as a dollar. She first appeared at the gilt- railed 
balcony in the dishabille of the country, that is, with only skirts of 
the dress — the sleeves and bodice hanging down in front ; leaving 
the person from waist up only slightly concealed by the camisetta, 
which half reveals and half hides the shoulders and bosom. One 
must be blind, indeed, not to become something of a connoisseur 
in female beauty, after residing any length of time in Mexico ; 
for the flimsy veil, which is usually worn in the day by all classes 
of women, only serves, by the pliant grace of their movements, to 
render their forms more defined and attractive. But to return 
to my vis-a-vis. At a second visit to the balcony, the bodice 
was laced, and superb masses of hair fell like a dark cloud over 
neck and arms. At a later period the toilette was completed, 
with a lace mantilla, and her tresses braided in two long plaits. 
A dear little baby was crowing upon her breast, and the beautiful 
Senora amused herself by entwining and knotting the braids of 
her hair under the infant's arms, when she swung the little fellow 
to and fro, in the most graceful manner conceivable. I never 
beheld so charming a duet. The bell sounded for dinner — there 
was a well-set table, and among a number of pleasant conversible 
persons, I made the acquaintance of a particularly intelligent and 
amiable priest, who very kindly acted as cicerone in my after 
rambles. We rose from the table d'hote as the military band 
began the night's performance in the plaza. The marble-paved 
paths and the benches were filled before we got there, and we found 
some difficulty in getting places ; but when my cigar got fairly 
under way, and eyes widely open, I did and do still take it upon 
me to afiirm, that no town in the universe can boast of so much 
female beauty. Not only were they in fives, but fifties. My 



234 CHAPTER XXXI. 



friend, the little Padre, appeared to be very generally beloved. 
Nearly all paused a moment to say a kind word or greeting, and 
thus I had a clear 'chance of observing the pretty throngs that 
swept by. They were so tastefully attired in full flowing and be- 
coming skirts, with no awkward stays or corsets to cramp the*grace 
of motion — the coquettish rihosa y never quiet an instant, but 
changing its silken folds, and half revealing the glancing neck and 
arm ! — the hair, too ; such hair ! ay de mi ! no odious bonnets to 
conceal God's fan- handiwork! — then their arched tiny feet, 
kissing the marble pavement, with so firm, so light, yet dignified 
a tread — and then the elders, sailing majestically astern of their 
lovely convoys — like ships of the line — regarding with wary eyes 
privateers in disguise of gay young cavaliers, crossing their track. 
Hola I what blockade could intercept those softly audible murmurs ! 
or the light downy touch of dimpled fingers, quick as a swallow's 
kiss to his mate ! or, more than all, withstand the languid, light- 
ning glances flashed from their upper deck of eyes ! Ave pwris- 
sima ! the waking hours by day, and sleepless ones by night, that 
Spanish maidens have caused me ! u I 'm not a lover now," but 
still, I derived great consolation in admiring these sweet doncellas ; 
and fearing a relapse to former maladies, I shook hands with 
the Padre, buckled on spurs and sabre, and as the cathedral bell 
was tolling ten, I was leaving Guadalajara, with its blaze of lights 
and beauty, behind me. 

Taking the main road for three hours, we crossed the Great 
Bridge, and turning to the north, struck the route of the 
Haciendas, which in lieu of smooth travelling and robbers, pos- 
sessed the advantages of safety, and a more direct communication 
to the interior. At daylight, we had ridden nineteen leagues, on 
capital animals, who never once slackened the reins in their 



OLD CYPRIANO. 235 



mouths. I was not only indebted to Don Domingo for these excel- 
lent adjuncts to my journey, but for a few written lines also, to 
divers persons along the road, which seemed to infuse them with a 
portion of their master's energy ; besides, he had sent his own 
trusty courier with me as guide. This was an old man of sixty, 
strong, active, and honest : in youth he had proved himself a brave 
soldier ; in virtue of which he was permitted to carry — besides 
his carbine — a long lance, and pennon that fluttered in the breeze. 
He frequently went without sleep, for three days and nights 
successively, when riding express for his patron. I made old 
Cypriano my commissary, and he always became frightfully 
incensed, when called upon to pay more than he deemed the 
service demanded ; but again he would laugh heartily, when 
urging a beast that had been overcharged, with a lash and a 
kick at every leap — which he called taking a medios worth. 
Indeed Cypriano, from long riding, had become a little callous, 
in thus visiting the sins of the masters upon the beasts, and 
believed in the superstition, that hired horses had no souls. 

The face of the country was fast losing its abruptness ; moun- 
tains were verging into hills with table tops, and long sweeping 
undulations stretching away in the hazy distance. It was very 
open, fertile, and well-tilled, but neither wooded, nor so profusely 
watered as the lands seaward of Guadalajara. 

Early in the afternoon we entered the little town of Tepan- 
titlan, where a huge wheezing gentleman gave me a brute troubled 
with his own complaint, but transferring him to the treatment of 
Doctor Cypriano, we then got on in fine style. The night was 
far advanced when we reached a round, portly mountain, called 
Cerro Gordo ; where tarrying at a small settlement, the keeper of 
a rancho surlily resisted opening his gateway, until he heard the 



236 CHAPTER XXXI. 



talismanic name of Don Domingo — then the door nearly flew off 
the hinges. A relay was, with some delay and trouble, procured, 
when again in the saddle. The road was stony and tortuous, so 
that we had thirteen tedious leagues to crawl and stumble over. 
Gladly we threw ourselves from the fagged-out beasts, and sought 
the residence of a good-natured paisano, owning a large rancho, 
a large wife, and two large daughters. Giving orders to be called 
in an hour, my spurs were no sooner unclasped than I fell into heavy 
slumber, on a low bed beneath an image of the virgin. When the 
time had expired, I was aroused by my faithful guide. One of 
the girls was seated on the ground, near the fire, with a stone 
trough and roller before her, busily employed with a batch of 
unleavened dough, of which, when consistently kneaded, she would 
catch up a dab, press it between the palms, and as the mass 
enlarged she began patting and tossing it from hand to hand until 
it spread into round, thin cakes ; they were then laid upon a flat- 
piece of sheet-iron, and browned over the fire ; these were 
tortillas : they have a taste like the oaten-cakes in Scotland, and 
are not particularly palatable to a young practitioner. A chicken 
had also been grilled on sticks, which, with a mixture they called 
coffee, served me for breakfast. 

Horses were ready in the corral, and saying adios to the fat 
family, we galloped away. A bathe in a roadside brook, and 
two changes of beasts, and at three in the afternoon we toiled 
slowly over some dry, chalky hills, and looked down upon Los 
Pueblos del Rincon. It was a very pretty, verdant spot, almost 
hidden in foliage, and reposing in an angle of wide and extended 
plateau. Having a note to the Commandante, I went straight to 
his quarters : but being a merchant as well as soldier, I was told 
he could be found at his shop, in the plaza. On going thither he was 



PUEBLOS DEL RINCON. 237 



indulging in siesta, and notwithstanding the urgency of my 
requests, no one could be found foolhardy enough to disturb his 
slumbers ; nor was I permitted to do so myself. I then trotted 
across the square, and presented my passports to the Alcalde, who 
having already been mollified by repose, consented to find some 
brave individual to awaken the sleeping rajah opposite. " Senor^ 
said I, hat in hand, " very sorry to incommode you, but necessity 
of the case," and so forth. He continued scowling quite fero- 
ciously while buttoning his trowsers, and as he pulled over his 
suspenders, and arranged them to his satisfaction, demanded what 
was wanted. " Oh, nothing ! n said I, " merely an order from 
General Yafies in Guadalajara," throwing the missive towards 
him. It acted as a charm : " Jesu, Senor^ excuse me — those 
rascals never told me you were waiting ! " 

Good animals were soon provided ; and amid all Don Manuel 
Garcia's generosity, he was pleased to sell me a bottle of sour 
wine from the tienda ; for which we ran his beasts, with a heavy 
thunder-storm of wind and rain close upon our heels for a long 
six leagues. The road had led through a rich, level district, 
covered with forests of fine timber, and abounding in cultivated 
fields of grain. Presently clusters of spires and towers sprang 
from the plain, and coursing through suburbs of walled gardens, 
convents, and country dwellings — all gratefully reposing beneath 
the shade of overhanging trees — we entered the city of Leon. It 
includes, with the environs, a thriving population of near sixty 
thousand souls ; delightfully situated in the heart of one of the 
most salubrious table-lands of the higher terraces of Mexico. 
The town, though inferior to Guadalajara in elegance, can still 
boast of much manufacturing wealth, with fine churches, spacious 
squares, and great uniformity in the general construction of the 



238 CHAPTER XXXI. 



houses, while streams of pure water traverse it in every street, 
and irrigate the extensive suburbs around. Indeed, let a 
Spaniard alone for choosing a pleasant site, near good water ; not 
that these their descendants have any cleanly predilections that 
way, for, on the contrary — except for the commonest purposes of 
drinking — their general filthiness of habit induces the belief that 
they are universally imbued with a hydrophobial aversion 
thereto. 

We rode through one of the main avenues of the city, and 
entered the grand plaza as the great bell of the cathedral was 
slowly tolling for oragion, and unconsciously we checked the 
horses, to behold a vast concourse of many thousands silently 
kneel — with uncovered heads, and faces turned towards the 
church — whilst all was hushed to perfect stillness. I never was 
more deeply impressed with an emotion of awe and solemnity. 

Three sides of the large square were lined with por tales, or 
arcades ; with every archway and open space filled with venders 
of glass, cigars, cutlery, saddlery, bridlery, and every kind of 
horse equipment ; all, however, destitute of workmanlike finish. 
The plaza itself was crowded with itinerant traders, screaming in 
every possible intonation of voice, their different wares. Stalls and 
booths were also doing a large business in licores and fried bits of 
meat, frijoles and tortillas, but what carried away the commercial 
palm by long odds, were the dulce women. There were a number 
of these popular saleswomen, squatted beneath huge umbrellas, 
full ten feet in diameter — surrounded by crowds of buyers — to 
whom they were dispensing papers of colored sugars, candies, and 
sweatmeats unceasingly. I passed them again the next morning, 
when they appeared busy as ever ; and I was an eye-witness to a 
little incident, wherein a centavo's worth of sugar was the cause of 



A KNIFE DUEL. 239 



a fatal stab. A lepero was purchasing a bit of chocolate — it fell 
in the dirt, when another, probably thinking it a lawful prize, 
seized it, and took a large bite ; whereupon the lawful owner 
swung a mass of heavy steel spurs attached to his wrist, jingling 
with some force, on the offender's head. In a second down 
dropped the spurs, and serapas were wound round the left arms. 
With low, deep curses and flashing eyes, their knives gleamed in 
the light ; the spectators cleared a ring, and to work they went. 
I sprang upon a stone pillar, to be out of harm's way, and thus 
had a clear view of the fray. Their blades were very unequally 
matched : one was at least eight inches, and the other not half 
that measurement ; but both appeared adepts at the game, — 
watching each other like wild cats, ready for a spring — moving 
cautiously to and fro, making feints by the shielded arm, or 
stamp of the foot, for a minute or two 5 when, quick as a flash, I 
saw two rapid passes made by both : blood spirted from an ugly 
wound in the spur-vender's throat, but at the same moment his 
short weapon sealed the doom of his antagonist, and he lay 
stretched upon the ground, as lifeless as the bloody steel that 
struck him. I glanced at the wounds after the affair had ter- 
minated, and found the knife had been plunged twice directly in 
the region of the heart. There was no effort or attempt made by 
the beholders to arrest the parties ; and the survivor caught up 
his spurs — a bystander quickly folded a handsome kerchief to his 
nec k — and threading the crowd he was soon out of sight. The 
corpse was laid upon a liquor-stand, with a delf platter upon the 
breast. 

My letter was to apparently the mercantile nabob of Leon, 
Don Miguel Obregon. He had a long range of tiendas, with a 
handsome dwelling filling a large space, facing the square. He 



540 ' CHAPTER XXXI. 

received me civilly — had places taken in the diligence, which 
fortunately left the following morning — and leaving my horse- 
trappings in his charge, I engaged a jaunty young valet, who looked 
far more respectable than his new master. He was dressed in blue 
velvet slashed trowsers, silver buttons thick as peas, embroidered 
shirt, with a glazed sombrero and silver band. Juan conducted 
me to a meson, which, like all other native inns in the republic 
of Mexico, has two large enclosures, or court yards : the inner 
ones with stalls for beasts, and the other for bipeds — the only 
difference is, that the accommodations for the latter animals are 
closer and the apartments more confined, having as a luxury a 
chair, and solid brick structures raised a little way from the ground, 
whereon one may sleep, if he can endure the filth and fleas. This 
is all the furniture they rejoice in. Each lodger has a key to his 
own quarters, and the main gateway is guarded continually — not, 
however, sufficiently vigilant as to the society admitted ; for the 
patios are crowded with improper persons, who every few minutes 
make flying trips around the inn, knocking at the doors ; then, 
droves of beasts coming or going — clattering over the paved yards, 
mingled with the whistles and shouts of the arrieros — are not 
altogether provocative of repose. At the Caravanserai where I 
lodged, there was a hump-backed Ganymede, of the most 
hideous kind. I have thought since, he would have been a mine 
of wealth to an enterprising showman ; or, in the dark ages, have 
made an acceptable present to some bold Baron. Although not 
more than five feet in height, his thin lucifer-match-like legs, being 
split up to the hump, gave him the stride of a giant ! and what with 
keen, glitering, beady eyes, and the footfall of a cat, he made my 
flesh creep whenever he came near me. 

Every body is his own cook and housekeeper in Mexican 



MEXICAN HOTELS. 241 



mesons ; and old Cypriano having procured me a wool mattrass 
that fairly danced with pulgas, and some long tallow links, which 
we stuck around the walls — having no fears of a conflagration — I 
despatched Juan for the best supper to be found. This amounted 
to red wine, beans and sausages. However, we made merry, and 
treated some gay damsels outside to the remains of our bottle 
Cypriano then extinguished our illumination, and stretching him- 
self on the threshold, covered by his serapa, with a weapon beside 
him, he left me to repose. It was my first night's rest since 
leaving San Bias, that is, if the pile of bricks and mortar which 
upheld my frame could reasonably be supposed to afford it. Yet 
the fleas, for once, caused me no sensible annoyance, and I 
regained my feet at sunrise, in readiness for further journeyings. 
I was pleased, too, at the prospect of quitting the saddle for a 
coach, although with good beasts I preferred the former : but 
to be subjected to the misery of a racker — then a pacer — then a 
trot or gallop — and by way of change, a horrible combination of all, 
with rapid travelling, is not only enough to jar one's nerves and 
aid his digestion, but to give a disinclination for a continuance of it. 

Parting with old Cypriano, who gave me some sensible advice 
about entrusting Juan with too much change, I sought the 
Diligence Fonda — swallowed a hasty breakfast, and with " no 
heavier baggage than a spare shirt .and tooth-brush, took my 
place. 

Contrary to expectation, and agreeably disappointed, I found 

the coach a thorough modern-built Yankee vehicle — comfortable 

and strong, with noble teams of five and six horses, that tugged 

us along quite ten miles the hour. The road was good, and a 

heavy shower had slaked the dust. The country was again broken 

into rocky hills and ravines. At two o'clock we reached the 
11 



242 CHAPTER XXXI. 



richest mining district of Mexico, in the neighborhood of Guana- 
juato. Within a league of the city proper the route leads 
through a valley into a deep split gorge, with rugged, arid hills 
running high up on all sides. Passing a number of mining 
haciendas of great extent, the city, bit by bit, begins to unfold 
itself. It presents a most extraordinary and picturesque appear- 
ance. The houses seem toppling one upon the other — built in 
zig-zags, up and down sharp corners and denies — with the spire 
or towers of some church perched away in mid-heaven, all brightly 
frescoed — the bases and gorges below being filled in with thick 
mist — leaving the loftier portions in distinct outline — closely 
resembling a city suspended in the sky. No scene of the theatre 
could be painted more singularly novel. It fairly made me giddy, 
as we came whirling through the outer defiles — turning hither and 
thither — catching a panoramic view of the town, like a glimpse 
in a prism, or revolutions of a kaleidoscope — when every moment 
one might expect the whole fabric thrown into a sparkling suc- 
cession of bright colors — and what with the continual booming 
of reports from blastings in the distant mines, I felt quite relieved 
when the diligence dashed down a little pit of a plaza, and drove 
through a porte cocker into the court-yard of our Fonda. 

My coach companions were pleasant fellows — there was a 
padre, two mining agents; a gentlemanly young Mexican officer 
who had been adjutant to Valencia, at the battle of Churubusco, 
and beside me sat a gentleman possessing a remarkably handsome, 
face and person, with the loss of his right arm. He was French, 
Mons. Ribaud ; he had been many years in the country — was 
intimately associated with the leading chiefs and revolutions of 
Mexico — had fought desperately, bore the marks of honorable 
wounds, and was a man of much military experience and acknow- 



MINT OF GUANAJUATO. 243 

ledged bravery ; but latterly, owing to strong personal hostility 
existing between him and Santa Anna, he had not been employed 
in battles of the North or valley of Mexico. I found Monsieur 
Ribaud delightful in conversation, and he related to me many 
adventures that had befallen him during his long residence in the 
republic. On alighting from the coach, I attended him to the 
commandante's, where my passport was properly considered and 
countersigned, and an aide-de-camp kindly volunteered to be my 
guide to the mint of the English directory. Here I was pre- 
sented to the superintendent, Mr. Jones, an American, from Con- 
necticut, who appeared pleased to meet a countryman, and showed 
me over the establishment. 

The machinery was of the most primitive kind — the stamping 
process worked by hand, with a lateral wooden beam acting upon 
a perpendicular screw ; at each end of the beam there was at- 
tached a small rope, pulled by four men, with an aperture in the 
floor sufficiently large to admit a man, just within arm's length 
of the stamp, who was employed placing smooth coins beneath 
the dies — one would naturally suppose at the imminent risk of 
having his finger and thumb nipped off at every half revolution 
of the lever ; but practice renders the operative skilful at the 
manipulation, and the screw descends, makes the impression, 
which is as regularly displaced by the smooth dollar and ready 
fingers of the man below. There were two of these aparatus, and 
they were only able to coin about thirty thousand pieces in twenty- 
four hours. The contrivance is surely a bad one, very tedious 
and expensive. The coiners received seven-eighths of a dollar per 
thousand, and instances of dishonesty were rarely known. The dies 
"were of English manufacture, but the reason why Mexican money 
presents such a rough and unfinished appearance, is purely owing 



244 CHAPTER XXXI. 



to their government, who insist upon the impressions being fac 
similes of those heretofore coined at their own mints. 

The smelting process, the rolling, nipping, and milling machines, 
were all much behind the age, and although the silver mines were 
producing more than ever before known, and more than, at the 
period of my visit, could by any possibility be coined, yet the 
directory have taken no measures to introduce the valuable and 
beautiful labor-saving improvements now in operation in Europe 
and the United States, where the same work could be accomplished 
by fewer persons, executed certainly at infinitely less expense, 
and with far greater facility and despatch. 

I saw vast piles of pure metal in the vaults, and uncountable 
masses of dollars. Before leaving, I was introduced to Mr. 
Bruff, treasurer to the institution, who, with Mr. Jones, treated 
me with every attention and civility. 

Our Fonda de la diligencia was well kept, commodious and 
respectable ; we sat down to the ordinary as a multitude of sweet- 
sounding bells were ringing and chiming away with their brazen 
throats for evening vespers, and after partaking of a Frenchified 
Mexican dinner, I sallied out for a walk. My companion knew 
the town, but in wandering about the steep angular elevations, I 
never dared to look up without catching hold of a balcony or 
leaning against a wall, fearful of becoming dizzy, and tumbling 
down somewhere. 

Entering the gran sociedad, we passed through a long suite of 
bright saloons — nearly suffocated by cigar smoke, or deafened by 
the incessant clicking of billiard balls — when we came to the monte 
and loto rooms. Here were grouped around a dozen different tables 
hundreds of players, from the plumed hats and shining lace of offi- 
cers, to the mean dirty serapas of soldiers and leperos ; all, howe- 



GAMING. 245 



ver, earnestly intent marking with grains of corn the numbers on 
the cards, as they were yelled forth by the loto man, who was seated 
on a raised platform at one end of the hall, watching the little 
ivory spheres as they dropped one by one out of a cylindrical box 
revolving before him. Further on were the monteros at work — 
with heaps of gold and silver piled around — with eager faces, com- 
pressed lips, and glittering eyes absorbed in the intense interest of 
the game — not a word or gesture save the dull monotonous voice 
of the dealers, like to the tolling of a bell — Juego senores ! se va ! 
with eyes that never winked and lids rigid as sheet-iron. The 
cards were pulled slowly and carefully one from the other, until 
the game was decided, when took place the rattling chink of coins, 
with maybe the deep uttered carajo ! of some unlucky wight who 
has lost a last stake ; yet even he pursues the easy dignity of his 
race, rolls and lights a cigarrillo, draws his cloak around him, 
raises his sombrero gracefully, and with a polite Hasta manana 
senores ! disappears from the table. 

While moving about the apartments, my comrade pointed 
out two young men in the Mexican uniform of captains, who 
were deserters from the American army ; one had been a lieuten- 
ant, named Sullivan ; both bore the marks of dissipation in un- 
mistakable lines around their faces. 

We again touched our hats, an invariable sign of courtesy, re- 
ligiously practised by all civilized beings on entering or leaving a 
public assemblage, and walked into the street. We took a sort 
of corkscrew promenade for a little space, when, by some strange 
flight of footsteps, we found ourselves on the pavement of a tri- 
angular platform. Like to the frame of a convex mirror, en- 
casing a sheet of blue moonlit sky — lay before, and as it were, 
trembling and tottering above us — one of the many remarkable 



246 CHAPTER XXXI. 



and scenic views of Guanajuato. Full in front against the vaulted 
sky stood a double towered church, with dome, spires and windows 
glistening like a transparency, then circling around were bright, 
gay-colored dwellings, with lights dancing from casement to case- 
ment, while each separate cornice, balcony and window, threw back 
to the silver moon a thousand sparkling reflections — all admira- 
bly contrasted with the sombre shadows of the deep gorge below. 
The scene was truly beautiful, and when within a few feet of our 
position, the full soft tones of a piano came thrilling through the 
still night, and a female voice rose high and sweetly, u ah !" cried 
my friend, " there's a deal to live for yet ;" and we retraced our 
windings to the inn. 

We were aroused at the first cock-crow, to take our seats in the 
diligence; and rattling out of the city by the road we came, 
mounted a steep eminence, when, gaining a flat sandy region, we 
soon lost sight of Guanajuato. During the forenoon we passed 
through a number of fine populous towns. At Irapuato, M. 
Ribaud and his friend left us. In Salamanca, where we stopped 
to bait and change horses, a number of beggars surrounded the 
coach, and in one I at once detected the pure Milesian brogue 
and visage. He was whining and limping about, with a tattered 
hat and stick, imploring alms in the most ludicrous attempts at 
the Castilian tongue. " Why, Pat, you're a deserter," said I, 
from the top of the vehicle. "Who siz that?" quoth he, evi- 
dently startled. Forgetting his infirmities, clapping on his som- 
brero, and clenching the stick in readiness for a fight, or flight, 
as he peered among the crowd; and stepping up to a miserable 
leper, whose face had been painfully stereotyped into a broad 
grin, he poked him sharply in the ribs, and roared out, u Ye lie, 
ye baste ! I was sick in the hospital, and the Gineral tuk me aff 



WE ARE BESIEGED. 247 



m his own carridge." Here, Pat, I'm your man! "Ah' is it 
there ye are, Liftinint ? you 're a pacock ov a boy ! will ye give 
us a rial ?" No ! but if you chance to be caught by the Yankees, 
you '11 get a rial's worth of " hearty-chokes and caper-sauce," I 
replied, going through a little pantomime with heels and neck, for 
his especial benefit. " No, be jasus ! thim Harney blaggards will 
niver choke me while the Dons is so ginerous." This was the 
last I saw or heard from Pat. 

We rolled rapidly along all day, in great trepidation concerning 
robbers, since the same diligence had been plundered for the eight 
successive days previous. There were four inside, besides my 
boy and myself. Early in the morning, a small, fierce-looking 
Yucatanese was savagely bent upon slaying whoever should cross 
our path, and, by the way, this Don Pancho was a perfect speci- 
men of an ambulating armory — having no less than two brace of 
holster pistols, a revolver, sword, cuc/iiHo, and his coat pockets 
filled with enough ammunition to have resisted a siege. The two 
last and critical posts were at hand, and together we mounted the 
box, with weapons in readiness. Whilst changing horses for tho 
last time, the stout cocker o — and a very expert whip he was — 
evinced some curiosity to know whether we intended shooting 
los compact res — this is polite slang for highwaymen — in case of 
attack. Being satisfied on that point, he declared he would not 
draw a rein until we again got inside. The warlike Yucatanese 
seconded him, protesting, in his cowardice, that he was solely 
actuated by fears of compromising the good driver ; he accord- 
ingly entered the vehicle, hinting that his plan would be, on the 
first onslaught, to ensconce himself under the body of the coach, 
and rapidly discharge a broadside at the enemy — a mode of tactics 
I by no means subscribed to. It convinced me, however, that 



248 CHAPTER XXXI 



there was collusion between robbers and cocker 0, to make the most 
out of their prey, and I unequivocally assured the stout driver, 
that if he did not lash the beasts upon the first signs of danger, he 
should go halves with his comjpadres from the contents of my 
pistols ; moreover, I still persisted in retaining a position on top, in 
which I was ably seconded by a delicate young French artiste, 
who volunteered to do his possible, if he could be supplied with 
arms : thereupon we made a forcible seizure from the stock of the 
brave Don Pancho. There were but two other passengers, who, 
not having a dollar in their purses, or a stealable garment on their 
persons, expressed utter indifference as to the course of events, 
lit cigars, and crouched beneath the seats. 

At last the long thong of hide was jerked from the leaders' 
heads, and away they plunged like demons. We sped on for a 
league or more, over a smooth broad road, lined with dense 
foliage of cactus and vines ; keeping a wary look-out, and occa- 
sionally cautioning the driver, at the risk of his brains, to give 
his horses the rein, at the first appearance of our expected 
visitors. Indeed I was on the point of congratulating myself 
mpon escaping their clutches altogether, when, as we whirled 
quickly towards a slight declivity, the progress of the vehicle was 
necessarily impeded by a few roods of rocky, uneven road ; and 
at the same moment — Voila ! said my companion, Voila ! les 
voleurs ! Like magic sprang up on either side, behind and ahead, 
a dozen villanous-looking scoundrels ; whilst to the right, upon a 
gentle knoll, were as many more mounted, holding the animals of 
their brethren, and calmly regarding the sport before them. I 
instantly levelled a pistol at a gentleman with a raised carbine in 
one hand, and sombrero coolly doffed in the other, who was cour- 
teously observing to the cochero, Como estdmos, Don Pepe ? — how 



LOS COMPADRES. 249 



are we ? — he was directly ahead of the leaders, and as my finger 
sought the trigger, Don Pepe knocked the barrel up with hii 
whip, and shouted, — "we are good people ! " Becoming con- 
scious of the folly of contending against such odds, I sank back 
to await my fate. I noticed one swarthy old villain on horse- 
back, who appeared chief of the gang, and was withal rather 
uneasy, urging his hijos — children — Presto ! de priesa ! horabre I — 
hurry ! make haste !— and with good reason too, for hardly had 
the villains opened the coach-doors, and commenced rifling the 
gallant Pancho, whilst two more had clambered up the wheels, to 
have an overhaul of the French painter and myself, when a voice 
cried out — Los dragonesJ los dragonesf — and the clash of 
sabres greeted our ears : Los drag ones ! los drag ones ! cried we 
all. Away hopped the agile compadres from the horses- heads, 
down jumped others from boot and wheels, off they scampered 
right and left, and in a few seconds they were seen galloping off 
in direction of the adjacent hills. The old bandit who directed 
their movements was delayed a moment behind the bushes in 
tightening his saddle girth. My fingers itched to have a crack at 
him ; but although, JDe los enemigos los mends — of enemies the 
fewer the better — be a sage maxim, yet upon reflecting that we 
might have been favored by the whole retreating troop with a 
volley from their carbines — and that a coach full of passengers was 
not a small target — I very sensibly left the weapon beneath the 
cushions. All this transpired so rapidly that when the green 
jackets of the troopers became visible a long way up the road, we 
were entirely relieved of our besiegers. My companion counted 
twenty-six, but they got absolutely nothing for their trouble ; 
much to my regret, however, for I was in hopes the Yucatanese 
11* 



250 CHAPTER XXXI. 



would have been handsomely plucked, instead of only having his 
coat well nigh rent in tatters ! 

The dragoons were an escort sent to guard a member of 
the Mexican deputies, who was expected by the coach. They 
answered our purpose quite as well. Nothing further occurred, 
except arresting a couple of suspicious individuals on the road, 
and attended by the cavalry, we soon arrived at the Garita of 
Queretaro. Here the brave Don Pancho had recovered his wits, 
and wished to play collector for our escort, crying out Afloja la 
lohcby Senor, — milk the purse ; — but dispensing with his services, 
I gave the sergeant the only ounce I had ; much better pleased to 
give it voluntarily, even to be devoted to monte, than to have it 
squeezed out by the ladrons. 



CHAPTER XXXII 

I arrived in Queretaro on the 20th of May — seven and a-half 
days from San Bias. It is an antiquated city, built when rich 
mines were yielding their treasures in the vicinity, and as a conse- 
quence, there is no lack of handsome private edifices, and num- 
bers of splendid churches. It stands nearly seven thousand feet 
above the sea, and enjoys a most delightful temperature. A noble 
aqueduct of two miles in length, with arches ninety feet high — 
spanning a plain of meadow-land — joins a tunnel from the opposite 
hills, and leads an abundance of excellent water, from ten miles 
beyond, to the city. It is a solid and enduring structure, built by 
the munificence of an old Spaniard, the Marquis de Villadil, 
previous to the Revolution. Of late years Queretaro had lost a 
large portion of its population ; the mines have become nearly 
exhausted, and it is without manufactures, or inland trade. After 
the occupation by the American troops of the city of Mexico, it 
became the headquarters of the Government, and seat of the 
General Congress ; and again all the world had flocked thither, 
and not a tenantless house or spare nook was to be found. Crowds 
were thronging the wide, well-paved streets, and mounted troops 
and foot-soldiers, with ear-aching music of cornets, trumpets and 
drums, were moving in all directions about the city as we 
entered, 



252 ■ CHAPTER XXXII 



I had letters to an Hanoverian gentleman — Mr. George Best — 
who very hospitably lodged rne at his dwelling. From him I 
learned that the treaty had already passed the Chamber of 
Deputies, and only awaited the action of the Senate to become a 
law, and that the United States Commissioners had been apprised 
of it by the Minister of Foreign Relations, sent express, the day 
of my arrival. I determined to continue my journey, and made 
all preparations for leaving on the morrow. 

During the night there arose a terrible crashing thunder-storm, 
and a large church near us was struck by the rayo, shattering the 
great clock, and " temple and tower came to the ground," with 
much jingle and confusion. I slept in happy ignorance of the 
whole affair. 

I was unavoidably detained until late in the afternoon. With 
post-horses, and a single guide, we toiled over an elevated 
sierra at the back of the city, and taking the bridle route, rode 
like Jehus all night ; only interrupted by changing animals, every 
seven or eight leagues. Once the post-boy's nag gave up the 
ghost, which was the cause of an hour's detention to procure 
another ; and again, at a break-neck pace I rode full tilt into a 
sleeping drove of swine, when my horse floundered on his face, 
and I was shot like a battering ram into a puddle of mire. With 
these trifling mishaps, we gave rein and spur, trusting to the 
beasts' guidance in the dark night — over bad roads, hills, and 
streams — until day dawned, when tarrying for a bath and bowl of 
coffee, we again hurried onward. At noon we struck the main 
route, and I was gratified to learn the Commissioners had not 
passed. Without pausing, we arrived within five leagues of 
Mexico, where, from a slight elevation, my guide exclaimed — 
Senor ! mire vd la escolta / Some distance below us wound a 



CITY OF MEXICO. 253 



large cavalcade, with four-in-hand coaches, and trains, attended 
by squadrons of cavalry, magnificently mounted on dark bay 
horses, with sabres and housings flashing in the sun. I knew it 
at a glance to be the American escort. Saluting the officer 
leading the advance, and stating my mission from the Pacific, I 
was immediately presented to the Ministers, and, much to my 
own relief, delivered the despatches. There were a large number 
of officers in the escort ; some old friends, too, with whom I had 
parted in as many different portions of the globe. Retracing my 
steps in company to the village I had just previously left, the 
cavalcade halted, and I was instructed to proceed, and report 
myself to the General-in-Chief in Mexico. 

Once more I galloped away, while the splendid squadrons of 
dragoons moved slowly along by the opposite road. In two 
hours' quick riding, we turned short round a bluff promontory, 
and entered the great valley ; then for the first time I saw — far, 
far beyond — arise, in Alpine grandeur, the snowy peaks of 
Popocatepetl and Iztaccehuatl, and nearer, the clustering towers 
that sprang up from the famed city of the Aztecs. 

Our course traversed luxuriantly fertile plains, over one of the 
broad causewayed roads radiating from the city — beautifully shaded 
by noble trees, with canals of running water on either side — until 
at last we passed the unguarded garitas, and entered what Cortez 
called la mas hermcsa cosa en el mundo — the prettiest thing in 
the world — Mexico ! 

Trotting through a long, straight street, that appeared inter- 
minable, I stopped at a sign of Bains Frangais, where, alighting 
and getting quit of the horses, I plunged into a warm bath : then 
being shampooed with spirits— much to the horror of an attendant, 
who at first imagined it was my intention to apply the whole 



254 - CHAPTER XXXII. 



bottle inwardly — and feeling much refreshed, I ventured out on a 
voyage of discovery. The streets were filled with soldiers, and 
I had no difficulty in finding the quarters of the Commander-in- 
Chief, not, however, until becoming sufficiently wearied, wander- 
ing about the city in quest of acquaintances, of whose address I 
had been advised. But they were all abroad, and the rain coming 
on with darkness, I succeeded in making my way to the residence 
of General Butler. He was alone, and after an hour's conversa- 
tion, he politely sent an orderly with me to hunt up my friends. 
We stopped at a coach-stand, but the instant the soldier requested 
a vehicle, the whole worshipful company of coachmen seized their 
reins and drove off like magic. The reason of this ballet appeared 
to be, as the orderly hinted, that they were " done " so frequently 
by the volunteers ! Nevertheless, coming suddenly upon one 
fellow, who, by dint of a dollar beforehand, opened his door and 
agreed to enter our service for the time being, we drove to the 
clubs, cafes, sociedads, and other places of public resort, until 
near midnight, without finding those we were in search of, when 
my friend, the orderly, suggested a visit to the grand ball in the 
Grand Sociedad. In a few minutes I had gained admission, and 
making a run through the mazes of a contra danza, came plump 
upon the friends I sought. Though tired as possible after a 
fifty-six leagues ride, I could not resist the fascination of a whirl, 
and catching a trim little damsel around the waist, off we stamped 
and pirouetted through the large saloon. Accompanying an 
an old friend to his quarters, I soon fell into heavy sleep, and 
never awoke until the sun was blazing in mid-day. 

My visit to Mexico lasted five days. On the whole, I was not 
highly impressed with the city. Like all other Spanish- American 
built towns, the streets are laid out with great regularity and. 



PALACE AND CATHEDRAL. 255 



excepting near the suburbs, are well paved ; the houses are of two 
stories — solid and imposing — without any attempt at architectural 
beauty — the shops particularly mean and insignificant for so large 
a town, and not remarkable for either novelty or cleanliness. The 
city does not cover a large space proportionate to its inhabitants, 
but it is seldom you meet with streets so densely crowded. In 
some quarters, towards evening, when leperos, vagabonds and 
population generally, left their dens for the open air, the main 
avenues were so closely packed as to make it a matter of the utmost 
difficulty to pass — far more people than are seen in the lazzaroni 
haunts at the same hour in Naples, or the great thoroughfares of 
London. 

The Cathedra], in the Plaza is a fine building, standing on the 
site of the ancient Aztec Teocallis,' but not comparable to the 
meanest of its kind in Europe. The outside was very much 
pock-marked with musket balls. I was more pleased with the 
Palace than any other brick-and-mortar structure that came under 
my observation. It occupies the eastern face of the Square — is of 
two stories, and painted a light-pink tinge — with immense gateways 
opening into the Plaza, where were two brass guns, gleaming 
like gold Apart from its historical associations, and having been 
the scene of many bloody struggles in the oft-repeated internal 
revolutions of the Republic, it has little to recommend it. The 
council and state chambers face the Square ; they are decorated 
with handsome furniture and crimson hangings to correspond ; 
lighted by noble windows, from floor to the lofty ceilings, with 
heavy stone balconies outside. In the adjoining building is the 
National Museum, where, in a court-yard, surrounded by quan- 
tities of feathers, belts, cloaks, and other Indian ornaments, was 
the famous sacrificial stone, that once graced the ancient Temple 



256 CHAPTER XXXII. 



of the Aztec monarchs. It is a horizontal convex wheel of granite, 
curiously carved in hieroglyphics on the perimeter, and having a 
hole and gutter on top, that received the victim's head and carried 
off the blood. In the patio of the same edifice, was a huge, 
ungainly .colossal statue in bronze, of Philip of Spain — not 
worthy a second glance. 

Undoubtedly I saw Mexico at disadvantage ; and indeed I 
took more pleasure in leaning over the stone balustrades of 
the Palace, regarding the different regiments going through 
their evolutions — particularly the Seventh Infantry — who im- 
pressed me so deeply with their soldierly bearing, and national 
pride for the hard battles they had fought and gallantly won, as 
to leave no room for admiration of the curiosities to be seen of a 
conquered city. Indeed Mexico was almost entirely American- 
ized. The great fondas and sociedads were all under the domi- 
nion of Yankees — with Yankee ice, Yankee drinks, signs, 
manners, habits, and customs, as if the city had been from time 
immemorial Yankeefied all over, instead of being only occupied 
a short twelvemonth by the troops. I usually dined in one of 
these large establishments, and excepting the hall of the eating 
saloon — from patios to attics — on every angle of the broad flights 
of stairs, crowded one beside the other, were gaming-tables of 
every kind and description. Such a condensed essence of worldly 
hell, in all its glaring, disgusting f rightfulness, never existed. 
And there never were lack of players either — no ! not one but 
was closely surrounded by officers and soldiers — blacklegs and 
villains of all sorts — betting uncommonly high, too — niany of the 
banks having sixty and eighty thousand dollars in gold alone on 
the tables — and once I saw a common soldier stake and win two 
hundred ounces at a single bet. Other saloons were filled with 



CHAPULTEPEC. 257 



Mexican girls, with music and dancing, attended by every species 
of vice, all going on unceasingly, day and night together. My 
friends called these pandemoniums the hells of Montezuma 
Whether such scenes will be of future benefit to the thousands of 
young men whom the war had called to Mexico will be a matter 
for future speculation. 

One afternoon, accompanied by a navy friend, we rode to 
Chapultepec. I had already visited the battle-grounds of the 
valley, but the last presented claims of greater interest. .The 
Indian definition of the height is Grasshopper Hill. It rises very 
strangely from the heart of the great plain, within half a league 
of the city — on all sides steep and precipitous, to the elevation of 
about two hundred feet — and with Molino del Rey, forms a long 
parallelogram, completely walled around. The former position 
is nearest the city, the King's windmill occupying the opposite 
space, with a noble grove of giant cypresses between the two 
points. 

The road runs parallel with the arches of the aqueduct, and 
terminates at the base of Chapultepec. A gateway opens upon a 
broad causeway, leading with but one angle to the esplanade of 
the castle. It had been occupied of late years as a military 
college ; and, though strongly manned by artillery and infantry, 
was still not susceptible of using cannon to advantage, when the 
assailing parties had approached the base of the hill. The 
walls and defences were of no great strength, and not capable of 
resisting round shot. 

I had the pleasure of being made known to the Colonel com- 
manding the fortress, who went with me over the works, and 
courteously explained the nature of the different battles in the 
neighborhood. The flat roof of the castle commands a fine and 



258 CHAPTER XXXII. 



extensive view of the valley, city, and sierras. There were many 
marks of the bloody business still visible — shot holes, broken 
balconies, fractured butments, shattered casements, and a pre- 
cipice near the western angle, from which, when the castle had 
been stormed and taken, numbers of the Mexican garrison had 
thrown themselves, and were crushed to death. 

The grand aqueduct draws its aliment at the foot of the hill, 
from a large, square tank of spring water — so pure, so very pure, 
that in looking down its almost unfathomable depths, one is apt 
to mistake the calm, clear fluid for the very air he breathes 
It was near this spot where is shown a noble cypress " that 
circles in the grain five hundred rings of years," beneath whose 
"giant bole" " the slight she slips of loyal blood" were wont to 
gambol before the Aztec Sybarite, Montezuma ; where " Malin- 
che's shade" is still seen to flit amid the grove, seeking her gal- 
lant lover, Cortez ; and where, at a less remote period, Yankee 
riflemen strewed the ground with Mexican corpses, until the 
spreading trees were covered to the knees with blood-stained 
clay. 

While gazing down the crystal reservoir, we resolved, in emu- 
lation of the Indian monarch, to test its virtues, and, in a moment, 
we were plunging and splashing in the icy water. It was, apart 
from the associations connected with brown Indian divinities, the 
very seventh Heaven of a bath ; but whether we sullied the pellu- 
cid clearness of the aqueduct's tribute, or detracted from the 
cooling fragrance of the celestial mint-juleps drained in town, we 
never had leisure to enquire ; and indeed without caring a drop 
about the matter, we mounted our tall steeds, broke branches 
from the legendary tree, and passing through the kingly forest 



MOLINO DEL REY. 259 



and meadow beyond, entered the deserted walls of Molino del 
Rej. 

As I have heretofore observed, this building fills the south side 
of the square — a sort of irregular barrack of two stories, and 
some eight hundred feet in length. Directly fronting this struc- 
ture, at the distance of a few hundred yards, standing upon a 
very slight swell of the plain, is what was termed the Casa mata — « 
a small redoubt — ditched and flanked by trenches, standing angu- 
larly in the direction of the windmill. It was the spot where our 
troops suffered severely, where many undaunted soldiers fell, 
under a murderous fire of artillery and musketry ; and where, after 
being repulsed, the Mexicans left their entrenchments, and put 
the wounded and dying to death in cold blood. This was the 
reason why so small a number of prisoners were taken at the 
storming of Chapultepec ! 

Leaving Molino del Rey, we made a short tour of the environs, 
and returned again by the main Paseo ! It was the hour when 
most frequented. There were but few ladies, and they not of the 
handsomest. Lots of queer antique coaches went rumbling along, 
and vastly neat cabs and stylish barouches whirling past them — 
while showy, spirited Mexican barbs, covered with gold and silver 
trappings were capering and prancing, five hundred steps to the 
minute — then an American General and staff would sweep by, 
elegantly mounted on high-mettled chargers, the small horses of the 
natives appearing like pigmies in comparison — and again along 
the grassy roadside paths were little children astride large sheep, 
completely caparisoned with saddles, housings, and bridles, trot- 
ting away quite gaily with their innocent young burthens. We 
took a glance at all this, and giving spur, rode into the city. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

The day previous to my departure from Mexico, I called at the 
Bureau of Postes for a license, and made a report of what I con- 
sidered collusion betwixt the Ladrons and Cochero, near Queretaro. 
The office was conducted by Mexicans ; and the Administrador, 
quite a gentleman, — who excused his servants at some length, by 
stating that the causes which prevented them from disobeying the 
orders of the highwaymen were fears of subsequent punishment, 
in case of escape at the time. Moreover, in the present unset- 
tled state of the country, crime had never been so prevalent, in 
consequence of the few troops at the disposal of the authorities, . 
for the purpose of keeping the roads open, from the hordes of 
deserters who mostly composed these lawless bands ; and even in 
the immediate vicinity of Mexico itself, highway robberies and 
murder were of daily occurrence. I was not convinced, although 
silenced, by the plausible courtesy of the Administrador. 

Early on the morning of the 26th of May, I shook hands with my 
kind army friends, newly capped pistols, and vaulted into the 
saddle. Estdmos listos — all right — said the post guide, as he 
succeeded in tightening the circingles, by kicking the beasts under 
the belly — Vamanos. Pulperias and tiendas were being opened ; 
leperos taking their morning's dram of pulqae ; closely veiled 
faces and sombre gowns were moving to mass ; patrols of horse 



A GOVERNMENT EXTRAORDINARIO. 261 



and foot, returning drowsily to barracks ; markets thronged ; 
jackasses trumpetting their morning's note of thanksgiving, and 
the great city awaking again into hum and bustle ; while, as the 
sun was climbing over the white-robed volcanoes that looked down 
upon the beautiful valley, we passed the long lines of streets and 
garita, gained the main road, when our pace quickened, and on 
we hurried along the branching shade of the avenues. Pell mell 
we went through droves of mules, at times driving a group of 
perverse donkeys right and left with the impetus of a catapult — 
maybe, one or more over, in a smoke from their own cargoes of 
charcoal, wood, or vegetables ; — and long before the arrieros could 
right the little brutes on their legs, with arres and blows — in 
readiness to treat us with curses — we had swept by in our heed- 
less flight, unmindful of all ; my guide scrupulously consoling 
himself by asserting that a government eztraor dinar io had the 
the privilege to knock over everybody that intercepted the path. 
In an hour we had left canals, streams, bridges, causeways, and 
fertile fields of the lovely vega, and turning to the right the bluff 
hill closed upon the scene — and this was my latest glimpse of 
Mexico. 

Soon leaving the main road, we branched off by narrow 
bridle paths, and cross cuts of the post route : four relays, and as 
many fresh guides, carried me to a place called Tepetitlan. Here 
the horse purveyor was a woman, who declared, with an ireful 
voice and gesture, as I drew up before her tenement, " that 
the blessed virgin might send her to purgatory if she had a horse 
with a hoof to stand on — that I might report her to the Alcalde 
or the devil, or both, or go there myself, just as I pleased. " 
Que mi importa ? — what do I care ? And the director had no 
right to send three expresses in one week, when she had nothing 



262 CHAPTER XXXIII. 



but the old grey and the mare ! Ave Maria ! pues ! — so help 
yourself! Cracking my whip a little savagely, I crossed the 
verdant slope of a hill, and dismounted at the gate of a walled 
garden, having, a delapidated and venerable habitation within. 
I was decoyed thither by a brace of buxom damsels — mother and 
daughter — who, perceiving my distress, despatched an old cripple 
in search of beasts. 

The little town had much to recommend it ; the houses were 
very quaint and antiquated, strewn, as they might be, upon the 
sides of a grassy slope — with a crumbling stone bridge and rapid 
brawling river coursing at the base. Midway between was a large 
old church, ivy-grown from the ruined towers and belfry to the 
decayed buttresses and lintels of the doorway ; all around the front 
were broad flights of stone steps, leading from the declivities of 
the hill, down to a level amphitheatre-like space, which was filled 
with glorious old trees, creeping vines, bright green grasses, 
ranges of marble benches beneath the shade, and in the midst, a 
thread of a rill, plashing about the ruins of what once had been 
the bowl of a large fountain. 

Besides the picturesque charms of the village, I was recom- 
pensed for two hours delay, by the frolicsome Senoras, at whose 
estate I had tarried. They very obligingly prepared me a nice 
little repast of frijoles — fried eggs and tortillas — assisted me to ■ 
drink a flask of bordeaux, and entertained me the while with a 
narrative of how the horrible Yankees had entered their great 
city — for they were cockneys, these ladies, and merely rusticating 
at their retreat — and their dreadful fears, and the horror they 
would undergo in case the invasion extended to Tepetiltan. My 
guide, who had been industriously eating a bowl of beans, using 
an original spoon like to a diminutive scoop — made in a jiffy from 



WE. DINE WITH LADIES. 263 



his tortillas — and swallowing beans and spoon at every mouthful, 
thereby putting himself to the trouble of reconstructing another 
at each succeeding bite — he, I say, informed my good hostesses 
that I was one of those demonios Yankees. Ay ! dios ! said the 
elder ; es possible que vd es gringo 1 — can it be true that you are 
a green-horn ? Si amiga^ I responded. Then their curiosity 
was interested to know my destination, religious impressions, and 
so forth — if I was a herege ? And being assured that I was a 
Christian catholic, could make the cross, and name more saints 
than they could, their good humor returned, and we made the old 
trees merry with laughter, chatting away the hours, seated upon 
the velvet sward. Still there appeared no indication of horses, 
and when beginning to despair, an individual saluted us, and I 
noticed him privately telegraphing my guide as to the probable 
amount the gringo could be cheated ! when turning to me, with a 
resolute air, he exclaimed, Ten go caballos hasta Tida a ocko pesos 
cada uno ! This was a triple extortion, but, very much to his 
astonishment, I immediately closed the bargain : upon which, he 
darted a disappointed look upon his coadjutor, in not having been 
signalized to charge more, and then drew forth his beasts from 
behind the garden wall. I had to be cheated, and there was no 
necessity of losing one's temper. I kissed the ladies — I say it 
with modest pride — and pursued my route. 

I came on smoothly and peaceably the remainder of the day 
and during the night, until towards daybreak, when, to keep my 
eyes open, I took a refreshing dip in the little river Tula. On 
attempting to mount again, accidentally placing a hand on the 
horse's rump, he very unceremoniously struck me with both heels 
on the thigh. I was hurled some yards, and fell senseless. My 
guide dragged me again to the stream, and I suppose his novel 



264 CHAPTER XXXIII. 



mode of treatment had the happy effect of restoring me to anima- 
tion ; for I partly recovered consciousness with my head beneath 
the water, in what I thought the last struggles of strangulation. 
It was meant, however, in kindness ; and fortunately having a 
flask of strong muscal in the alforgas, he bathed me, inside and 
out, to my great relief, although I was obliged to lay on a serapa 
by the road side, in sharp pain, for two hours. Then exchanging 
my vicious brute with the guide, he assisted me into the saddle 
again, and we walked quietly into the town of San Juan del Rio — 
not, however, without passing a body of sixteen deserters from 
our own army, in full uniform — who seemed to wish to be more 
sociable than I judged civil — and I was right glad to hear the last 
of their reiterated adios. 

At San Juan, a large douceur procured magnificent horses for 
myself and a small urchin, who was sent as post-boy; after 
being again chafed with spirits, I mounted, and with a swollen, 
painful leg, left the town. The animal I bestrode moved with a 
spirited though easy gait, and nothing transpired for some miles. 
For easier travelling we had taken the main road, which 
traversed a level, well-cultivated country, hedged on either side 
with close plantations of the cactus and argave. It was about 
nine o'clock, when my little companion called attention to three 
horsemen, who, most unaccountably, had started up within ar 
hundred yards of our rear : Hay mala geute — they are bad fellows — 
he softly exclaimed. They were well mounted, and like most 
other Mexicans on the road, had the lower portions of the face 
bound around with colored handkerchiefs, and notwithstanding 
the extreme mildness, not to say warmth of the morning, were 
closely wrapped in serapas. I must confess seeing naught; 
remarkable in all this; for the country was open; apparently 



WE PRESENT A PASSPORT 265 



well travelled ; shortly before, we had passed a large drove of 
pack mules, and a hacienda was visible in the distance, Still I 
did not neglect the hint of my sharp young guide, and bade him 
make sail ahead. He needed no second bidding — gave a terrified 
look back, and struck spurs to his beast. Waiting a little while, 
I, too, increased my speed, but had not made a dozen bounds, 
when a loud voice called me to halt ! What for ? said I, without 
pausing. Su passaporia, was shouted. Pulling a heavy rifle- 
pistol from the holster, and bringing my horse to a stand, I replied, 
" Here 's my passport !" 

They instantly checked their animals, within twenty yards, 
threw off serapas, and whilst the individual nearest me was rapidly 
unrolling a cloth from the lock of his short carbine, believing 
hostilities to have commenced, I took deliberate aim, and fired. 
He was sitting diagonally towards me, and the ball, of nearly an 
ounce in weight, struck him high up the chest ; and I venture to 
assert, upon the well-known virtues of Mons. Devisme's weapons, 
on the boulevarde Poissonierre, that it went through and through 
him. I saw his carbine fall to the ground, and heard him 
exclaim, with both hands pressing the breast, Madre de Dios! 1 
myself was of the opinion, that the sooner he said his prayers the 
better, and although I felt a twinge of regret at what had taken 
place, it was speedily dissipated ; for at the same moment there 
were three or four reports — two of them from persons on foot, 
inside the hedge ; but not hearing even the whistling of the 
bullets, I judged their aim had been somewhat inaccurate. Giving 
my horse the rein and spur, I went flying along the road. One 
of the mounted gentlemen alone followed in pursuit, and finding I 
had the heels of him, I held my nag well in, until I had disengaged 
the remaining weapon, when, halting suddenly, I cried, Venga mi 
12 



266 CHAPTER XXXII. 



compadre, para el cambio — come and take your revenge. The 
instant of perceiving the movement, he fired a pistol at random, 
shouted punetero ! — wheeled rapidly into the thickets, and was out 
of sight. He was at too great a distance to make sure of him, or 
I certainly should have saved the garotte a wrench. The old 
adage preserved him : El diablo siempre cioida por los suyos — the 
devil regards his darlings. Once more giving my willing beast 
the bit, I never ceased running for five leagues ; as for my leg, 
I had forgotten all about it. Overtaking the little guide, we 
slackened our pace. But the trouble was not ended, for presently 
the diligence came in sight, and as we approached, what was my 
surprise and dismay, to observe an individual on the box delib- 
erately level a blunderbuss at my head, and never remove his aim 
until the coach was lost to view ! Bueno ! thought I ; this is 
diverting — first to shoot a thief, and then be mistaken for one ! 

Dismounting at a small pulperia, near an extensive hacienda^ 
I bathed my lame limb in muscal, and reloaded the pistol ; during 
which last operation, the patron of the grog-shop, who looked 
something villanous in the visage, interrogated the boy, who 
afterwards informed me that the wounded rogue on the black 
horse was one Senor Felipe, an intimate friend of the pulperia- 
man, and greatly respected by the community at large. I was 
not again molested, and experienced no further interruption. 
Three posts carried us to Queritaro late in the afternoon. 
Meeting Mons. Bibaud in the streets, I related the adventure, 
and he strongly advised me not to make it known, as there was 
no calculating the number of Don Felipe's associates, or the 
annoyance one might suffer from the sharp thrust of a knife, 
unexpectedly dealt by noon or midnight. Subsequently I was 
introduced to an English gentleman, who had been robbed the 



SOMEBODY KILLED BY MISTAKE. 267 



day previous in the diligence — who stated, that, as there chanced 
to be a German mechanic in the coach, the compadres mistook 
him for a Yankee, and very promptly blew his brains out — which 
little incident made me feel highly gratified that a like interesting 
episode had not been enacted with mine own. 

I reported my arrival to the American Commissioners, and took 
quarters with the officers attached to the escort. They entered 
the city on the 25th, as the vote upon the Treaty was being taken 
in the Mexican Senate : very possibly it may have hastened it. 
The division stood but four in opposition — much excitement pre- 
vailed in Queretaro, as the measure was decidedly unpopular 
among all classes of military men ; there being no less than twenty- 
seven hundred officers of the army, besides immense swarms of 
empleados and every species of Government people, awaiting the 
action of Congress. It was universally conceded by liberal- 
minded persons, that the old army should be completely dis- 
banded, and regenerated on a smaller scale ; but still they kept up 
the cry of War ! War ! without the slightest means in men, money, 
or material, to carry it on ; merely as a watchword to frown 
down reform, without the merest hope or wish to do any more 
fighting or running — idle words and wind, and thus the gritos of 
Viva la guerra ! Abajo la paz ! were yelled in every street and 
plaza. 

The battalion of traitors, under the banner of San Patricio, 
who amounted to some hundreds, had very judiciously been with- 
drawn from the city before the coming of the American troops. 
Strong guards of Mexican cavalry were posted throughout tho 
town to prevent any disturbance, since the entrance of the escort 
had been strenuously opposed by the Ministry, but with the 
exception of a few stones thrown at the Commissioners' empty 



268 CHAPTER XXXIII. 



coaches, on driving to the stables, and a corporal's guard of our 
Riflemen charging and clearing a street — for some real or fancied 
insult — no collision took place. 

Our soldiers were quartered in a large, commodious church on 
the skirts of the city, and strong guards daily detailed for duty at 
the residences of their officers. They were a splendid body of 
cavalry, and deservedly elicited a deal of admiration from natives 
and foreigners. We were lodged in two spacious houses facing 
the principal street — the Ministers with their numerous attaches 
in one, and the officers adjoining. Each edifice was big enough 
for a regiment. Our receiving and sleeping saloon was all in one, 
and a fine lofty hall it was, with capital balconies in front. 

We passed the time very pleasantly. There were nice baths 
in the vicinity, where we laved before breakfast. We devoted the 
mornings to walking, or lounging over the wide balconies, where, 
from dawn till dark, an audience of near a thousand leper os and 
vagabonds, were thickly seated on the opposite sides of the street, 
regarding with marked attention our minutest proceedings. 
Within a few minutes walk was a circular promenade, closely 
planted with undergrowth and towering foliage, where in the 
afternoons all the world assembled to behold their enemies, Los 
gringos. 

One morning I had the pleasure of accompanying the com- 
manding officer of the escort and his officers on an official visit to 
the military Governor of the town. He entered the saloon, very 
like Harlequin, after we all were seated. He was a little man ; 
and as the doors swung open, in he bounded with open arms, and 
bowing most gracefully to his visitors. He was not in uniform ; 
and his only military insignia were a number of ribbons and deco- 
rations on the breast of his coat. He had received a ball through the 



OFFICIAL VISITS. 269 



cheek a.t the battle of Buena Vista, which was carefully concealed 
beneath a luxuriant growth of whiskers. The conversation was 
not very general, and remaining but a brief sitting, we made our 
salaams ; upon which I could not resist complimenting the Major 
at his excessive grace whilst outbowing the General, and he 
assured me that he had even injured the King of Naples' spine, 
who attempted to surpass him in the business ! 

From here we repaired, to attend one of our Commissioners on 
another official visit, to the Mexican President and Ministers. 
The reception-room was rather a mean apartment, hung with 
crimson curtains, and at the upper end was a chair of state, with 
others ranged around. The President, Pena y Pena, pleased me 
more than his advisers, having a mild, benignant expression, and 
evidently appeared worn down with care and anxiety. Anaya was 
a tall, bony person, with high cheek-bones — denoting his Indian 
origin — and a stolid striped face. Rosa, the Secretary of War, 
was short in stature, of swarthy complexion, with full, dark, intel- 
ligent eyes. But of all the public characters, who held office 
under the Mexican government, whom I had the opportunity of 
seeing, there was none who struck me so forcibly as one of the 
deputies — Sefior Cauto. 

At the conclusion of the Presentation, a number of polite 
speeches were interchanged, all of which impressed me as being 
very gracefully done, though destitute of a particle of sincerity, 
as these empty-headed formalities usually are. But indeed I felt 
for the pitiable position of these poor Mexicans, who were having 
bitter pills crammed down their throats, though gilded by so 
many sweet, courteous compliments ; and I was glad when the 
audience terminated, and we had turned our backs on the 
miserable, cowed-looking sentinel at the gate. 



270 CHAPTER XXXIII. 



The officers of the escort received many civilities from the 
Mexicans, and extended others in return. The Governor had 
obligingly furnished a full colonel, who was an excellent cicerone 
about the city, who ordered dinners, assisted in eating them, and 
made himself generally useful : he bore a surprising resemblance 
to the portraits of Don Quixote. On one occasion we had a call 
from a colonel of cavalry : a large, fine-looking fellow, flashing 
resplendent in gold, from the glittering plates of his fur shako, 
to the richly-chased scabbard of his sabre, and rowels of his 
bright spurs ; — he must have been worth a fortune as he stood ! 
It was his wish that all the American officers would honor him at 
a breakfast preparing for the occasion. The invitation was cheer- 
fully accepted, as much, possibly, in compliment to the dashing 
colonel, as to the fact that our own board was not so well 
supplied as was altogether palatable and proper. 

It was quite a grand affair — was the breakfast — laid out in the 
billiard-saloon of a fonda, having the bar and cooking convenient, 
as it were, in the same apartment ; there were some twenty 
Mexican officers at table, besides ourselves ; to say nothing of as 
many more casual observers, who aided vociferously in drinking 
all the toasts in succession, and afterwards carefully secreted the 
glasses — which were- limited — in readiness for another toast. The 
first course consisted simply of a wine-glass of pure cogniac — 
intended for an appetizer no doubt — but it was probably subver- 
sive of the desired effect, for I noticed, immediately afterwards, 
a number with watery eyes, and great difficulty of articulation. 
This was followed by a pilaus of rice and chickens, beafsteaks, 
soups, frijoles, fruit, and viands in the most indiscriminate con- 
fusion. Bordeaux and sherry circulated freely, and we had 
speeches, toasts, and sentiments : we drank the memory of every 



THE COLONEL'S BREAKFAST. 271 

general, living or dead, of both armies, beginning with Washington 
and Hidalgo, and gave, I should imagine, upon a rough calculation, 
as many as eighty or ninety cheers for Santa Anna, and u Skote ! " 
I had the happiness of translating — rather freely I must confess — 
these different effusions, and also the sense of a long harangue 
delivered by an advocate, who came late, and for that reason got 
comfortably boracho at once. 

Our gallant host, in a few disjointed observations, assured us 
that he was not only brave himself, and loved bravery in others, 
but that his horse was brave, and had been wounded in divers 
battles. Yo soy valiente! said the fierce colonel, pounding the 
orders on his capacious breast, and forthwith proclaimed to the 
audience his intention to pay for everything that anybody could 
possibly eat or drink for a fortnight to come, and seizing me by 
the arms, he impressively remarked that I was the most intimate 
friend he ever had except his wife, and requested me to throw 
his huge shako up to the ceiling — solely for amistad, and good 
fellowship of the thing — which I instantly did, and made the 
bearskin and golden plates ring against the rafters. Thereupon 
he called for more wine, and desired all who loved him to break a 
few glasses, commencing himself with a couple of decanters. At 
this stage of the action the landlord interfered, and very sensibly 
cut off the supplies of liquor, which reduced the party, who were 
" merry in the halls, 5 ' to consistent behavior ; when, embracing 
one another frequently, houses were ordered for a turn in the 
Alameda. They treated us with the greatest kindness and hospi- 
tality, only the manner of doing it was different from our own. 
All were decorated, and one handsome young officer of the Lancers 
had four emblems of defeated battles. 

The Paseo was thronged by all the elite of Queretaro : richly- 



272 - CHAPTER XXXIII. 



caparisoned barbs were jingling musically with multitudes of little 
steel or silver drops attached to the housings ; pacing, and fretting, 
and foaming, full of fire and spirit, but curbed and trained to short 
steps. Then came the well-appointed carriages of the President or 
Governor, drawn by sleek fat mules, and close behind cumbrous 
masses of timber — hewn wheels and axles lashed together with 
hides — all hitched by ropes to half a dozen, or more, dirty beasts ; 
the vehicles themselves filled with rare specimens of fat old 
women, decked off in gay haberdashery, each holding an armful 
of children, all bent upon a good sight of the North Americans. 
And there were youthful faces too — bright glances from brighter 
eyes — emulating those aged matrons in curiosity, peering from 
behind waving fans, within long lines of carriages drawn up at the 
sides of the promenade. Nor had the Gringos aught to fear from 
the investigation, for there were handsome young dragoons and 
riflemen, attended by their orderlies, mounted on noble chargers 
with arched necks and shining coats, moving with a high, proud 
bearing, as if regarding with great contempt the capering graces 
of their little brethren beside them. 

After a number of turns around the park — the last at a 
thundering gallop, with a stride that made the natives shudder — 
we dashed out of the gates. On our way through the city, one ot 
our Mexican friends espied me, and in true Calif ornian style, 
shook his bridle, gave spur, and came leaping like a flash towards 
us. I was not a novice at the sport, and touching one of the 
finest horses in the army with my heel, the gallant sorrel sprang 
forward to greet him. We met in full career, my charger stood 
like the great pyramid, but the shock rolled my antagonist into 
the street. I should in courtesy have got down from the saddle 
to his assistance, but reflecting that without a ladder T never 



WE RUN A JOUST. 273 



should be able to get on my high steed again, I accordingly 
remained quiet. However, my friend quickly remounted, and 
made an earnest attempt to laugh ; but as there chanced to be 

hundreds of spectators, I hardly thought the mirth reached his 
heart : he may have been somewhat allegro from the good cheer 
at breakfast, or have eaten something indigestible, yet under 
either dispensation, it will caution him not to run another 
joust at a Kentucky-bred charger, or he may, as in this 
instance, get tilted from the saddle. Being a sailor, I gained a 
great reputation for this feat, and gave an entertainment on 
the strength of it. 

Some clays elapsed after the Treaty had finally been acted upon 
in the Mexican Senate, before the ratifications were exchanged. 
Mexican diplomacy is proverbial, and they chose the most tor- 
tuous track to gain the goal. The delay was in some degree 
attributable, so said the Government, to the absence of the official 
seal, and certain time required to make proper copies and trans- 
lations ; but it was with equal reason surmised, that it arose from 
causes relative to a division of the first instalment of the indem- 
nity, as a new ministry was to be elected, and the old cared not 
to assume the odium of signing the Peace, without being fortified 
with the assurances of their successors that they should receive 
the reward of their services. But here subterfuge was irnavailing 
— the armistice expired on the 2d of June, and time was flying. 
At length, after refusing permission for the American cavalry 
and artillery to take up their line of march by land to the 
Northern frontier, on the night of the 30th of May, the final 
signatures were affixed to the Treaty, and an hour later, Herrera 

was chosen President of the Republic. 
12" 



274 CHAPTER XXXIII. 



Soon after midnight, with a copy of this document in my 
jacket, and a promise, from the Secretary of War, of an escort 
for ten leagues, I once more began my journey towards the 
Pacific Ocean. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

It was quite dark on taking my place in the diligence, but 
getting comfortably seated, I heard one of the passengers inquire 
if there was to be an escort ; so putting my head out of the win- 
dow, I asked my man Juan if he had any idea where the troops 
were concealed? No Senor, no hay ! — not a soul to be seen. 
JBueno ! I consoled myself by being sure of meeting them at the 
garita — and then we came to the gate, but never a sabre visible ! 
Malditos were of no avail. vSenor Rosa, in a multiplicity of 
negocioSj had forgotten me ! Truly, I was scared out of sleep the 
first few posts, but at last my eyelids gained the day — I sailed 
away in the land of dreams, and never awoke until reaching 
Salamanca — much refreshed and decidedly happy not to have 
been rifled by ladrons. 

It was four o'clock and raining heavily as we drove into the 
cellar, as it were, of the sky-built city of Guanajuato. The 
water was bounding and leaping down the naked sides of the hills, 
converting every narrow gully into a boiling torrent, until cas- 
cades and rivulets all poured into the deep valley beneath, and 
went roaring and foa'ming away, increasing in bulk and impetu- 
osity at every gorge, to feed some rapid river in the plains beyond. 
I was intently occupied speculating upon the chances whether 



276 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



the diligence would be swept along with other floating matter, or 
ultimately stranded on dry land; for not long before, one of these 
same vehicles had been caught in a freshet — carried some dis- 
tance, drowning three insides. But fortunately, we steered clear 
of these dangers by flood and coach — with saturated garments — 
and were soon safely housed in the comfortable fonda. 

Much to my chagrin 3 the rain prevented a visit to the great 
mines of La Luz. They are said to be the largest in the world, 
and well worthy of a sight, employing no less than fifteen thou- 
sand workmen, including their families. The owner died in 
Queretero the day previous to my departure, bequeathing a for- 
tune of twenty millions of dollars to his heirs. 

I left Guanajuato before daylight — the heavens were dropping 
tears, although not sufficiently lacrymose to keep the gorges 
surcharged, and thus we again escaped coach-wreck. We reached 
Leon to a late breakfast — there I exchanged the youthful valet 
Juan for my horse equipments, and having but a single com- 
panion in the person of an Englishman bound to Zacatecas, we 
continued the route : the cocheros swore there were none other 
than virtuous people in that vicinity and we had no fears of being 
molested : the road became rocky and uneven — occasionally no 
beaten track at all — and had not the coach and our bones been 
constructed of the toughest materials, I imagine neither could 
have reached Lagos— but we got there at three o'clock, with no 
more serious mishap than being jolted asleep and awake, at least 
four or five times in as many minutes. 

Our stopping place was a decent little fonda, administered by 
an old Spaniard. While standing in the gateway I observed two 
persons, and, from something indescribable in their appearance, 
immediately accosted them in Anglo-Saxon : they were North 
Americans, and had resided many years in Mexico : they treated 



PRONUNCIAMENTOS. 277 



me kindly, and extended every assistance in their power. I visited 
one and saw as pretty a wife and family as any batchelor might 
envy. The town itself is extremely pretty — a remarkably hand- 
some church faces the Plaza — the houses elegantly adorned exter- 
nally in fanciful frescoes, with designs of flowers, wreaths, gardens, 
and mythological figures, while a branch of the Rio Grande rushes 
swiftly through the heart of the town, fringed with a profusion of 
verdant foliage. During my visit the river coursed in two sepa- 
rate channels, divided by a narrow strip of pebbly sand, whereon 
were hundreds of little nude boys and girls, and women nearly so, 
bathing and washing in the pools along the shores. 

Returning from the walk, we had hardly entered the inn, which 
looked into the Plaza, when some Mtj ragamuffins, armed with 
many varieties of weapons, but principally broken muskets and 
naked sabres, passed by ; they had music, too, an undeniable 
drum, which never for a moment ceased being thumped and 
pounded, during all the proceedings that afterwards transpired. 
There was to be a Mexican Pronunciamento ! The band marched 
straight to the Quart el near the upper end of the square by the 
church, where, after much shouting, expostulation, bluster, and 
reading of proclamations, they induced about five and twenty 
meagre soldiers, who composed the garrison, to declare in favor 
of the rebellion ; then a number of bottles of strong waters circu- 
lated briskly, the mob mingled with the fraternised soldiery, pos- 
sessed themselves of their muskets, broke up into groups, and 
filled the air with cries of u Aha jo los Yankees! Viva Paredes! 
Viva la Guerra ! Viva El Padre Jarauta /" 

The Pronunciamento was completed. 

My friends prepared me for this ebullition by stating it to be 
part of a combined movement, fomented by Paredes, who was 



278 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



at Aguas Calientes, seven leagues beyond, awaiting the action of 
Guadalajara and the western provinces. 

It had been my intention to take the route to Mazatkn by way 
of Zacatecas and Durango, but I was earnestly urged not. to attempt 
it in the present unsettled state of that district, and as the advice 
was based on sensible grounds — not without a deal of regret — I at 
once ordered horses for Guadalajara. Whilst dinner was pre- 
paring I took a stroll with the innkeeper, around the Plaza to get a 
glimpse, if possible, of the sanctified assassin Padre Jarauta. I 
had heard much of the villain's atrocities, both from the papers 
and individuals. The young adjutant whom I met in Guana- 
juato related of him, that he boasted of having killed fifty-three 
Americans with his own cuchillo, and though styling himself priest 
was nothing but a student who had taken to arms " con aniore." 
To say the least of this good padre, he possessed unparalleled 
courage and audacity, had done immense mischief to small corps 
and trains of our army, and he was, in fact, the boldest, bloodiest 
Guerilla chief in all Mexico. 

I was gratified for my exertions, and passed twice beside him ; 
he was striking in expression, perhaps thirty years old, with fine 
fierce dark eyes, and little beard : he was about the middle height, 
dressed in a round jacket and cloak, with a short straight sword 
on his hip. He appeared absorbed with great events, regarding 
the sky and other celestial bodies, never deigning to honor me 
with a glance. 

One of my countrymen dined with me, and we had an excel- 
lent repast, but it was most unseasonably interrupted by the 
entrance of the host, who after a short consultation with my 
friend, informed me that the good Padre Jarauta had learned the 
arrival of an American officer, and had expressed a determination 



PADKE JARAUTA. 279 



to make an ejenvplo of him in the square ! I reposed full faith in 
his pious regard, and did not doubt for an instant that he would 
be at all loth in executing his virtuous designs — and as for my 
passport and papers, they might possibly have given additional zest 
to his holy orders, and been considered just long enough to cock half 
a dozen carbines, and — fuego ! However, there was no time to 
deliberate, and but one course to avoid the dilemma — Gracios a 
Dios — the horses were fortunately in the corral of the meson, 
and in a very few seconds the guide had clasped on my spurs, 
and I jumped into the saddle. With warmest thanks to my 
friends, and a trifle, more solid, to the true Biscayno for his good 
offices, in the darkness, the animals were led down a stone 
flight of steps, through some outbuildings, where, gaining a back 
street, we made the dust whirl in clouds around us, as we gave 
lash and steel to the beasts. 

At early dawn we halted at a place called Encarnacion for 
change of horses, and losing no time, mounted and struck a by- 
path to shorten the distance. At sunrise we observed a group 
of travellers ahead, and pushed on to overtake them. Perceiving, 
however, a wish to avoid us, and warlike demonstrations begun 
by two individuals unslinging carbines in the rear, I sent the guide 
in advance to relieve their anxiety ; they proved to be the family 
of the commandant of Lagos, flying bag and baggage to a more 
safe retreat ; there were two ladies in the party, and we remained 
in company for some miles : they had lost a valise in their flight, 
and, on parting, I was under the belief that they regarded me as 
the lucky finder thereof. 

Further on we passed a remarkable elevation called La Mesa, 
a table hill of a perfect oval, rising like the palisades of 
Hudson River : some three hundred feet, with a dead flat surface, 



280 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



and but one gateway-like aperture leading to the summit — making 
altogether a most regular and inaccessible natural fortress. My 
guide assured me, there was a deep, clear lake on top, and many 
acres of good soil. 

The sun was getting high up, when we drew bridles at a fork 
of the road, beneath a wide-spreading tree, and in fact the only 
one to be seen. Here, squatted on a stone, was a jolly old gentle- 
man-, with a great earthen jar of pulque, and platter filled with 
the same sour fermentation, on the grass before him ; the guide, 
as in honor bound, swallowed a centavo's worth, but I was con- 
tented with a little diluted muscal, which is far more palatable, 
and has much the taste of Scotch whiskey. Both preparations 
are made from the same species of plant — the American Argave 
— and to see the immense extent of land under cultivation — the 
great droves of beasts carrying the juice to market, one might 
readily believe enough was made to keep the whole Mexican 
nation in one continued state of intoxication. The keeper of the 
small ambulating pulperia informed us that a pronunciamento 
had taken place that very morning at San Juan de Lagos, and 
that large bands of armed men had entered the town at daylight. 
Padre Jarauta had destroyed my appetite the night previous, and 
this news equally perplexed me — for there was but one route 
directly through the town, and I had no inclination to run a 
muck ; so following the advice of my guide Jose Maria, to lay 
by a few hours, and learn the state of affairs from some one pass- 
ing along the road, we descended a small ravine entirely sheltered 
from view, where the horses were unsaddled, and a temporary screen 
made with the serapas, to shield us from the noontide sun. Here I 
stretched myself upon the grass, and before many minutes elapsed 
had cut buttons and straps from my jacket : the uniform I wore 



SAN JUAN DE LAGOS. 281 



was generally taken for that of a Mexican cavalry officer, but in 
this instance I was resolved to make assurance doubly sure, and 
not be mistaken for a gringo : and accordingly hurled buttons and 
lace far down the gully. 

Two hours past meredian I was awakened by Jose, who reported 
having heard firing in the town, and that he had learned from a 
paisano, in hot haste from Lagos, that Senor Jarauta, after 
making a forcible razzia of all animals to be found, marched with 
over a hundred compatriots for Aguas Calientes : whether he put 
himself to any inconvenience or not in regard to my movements, 
I did not hear or care, so true is the adage, " sacabo il pericolo, 
adio il santo." All I ever learned of his after history, was that 
a month later he was made prisoner by the troops of General 
Bustamente, and immediately shot. Thus being relieved of the 
good father, I gathered courage to proceed, and mounting, we 
gave spur for San Juan de Lagos ; we had but a league's travel, 
and I was soon put out of suspense, for on descending a steep 
hill, which led down to the town, we encountered a number of 
arrieros, who gave the pleasing intelligence, that the place had de- 
clared in favor of the existing government, and the towns people had 
driven the agents of Paredes outside, and thus we rode to a meson 
without molestation. I noticed about eighty citizen soldiers drawn 
up in front of the church, listening to the harangue of a clerical 
gentleman, attired in a stove-pipe hat and flowing gown. 

There was not a remuda — change — to be had for love or 
money in San Juan de Lagos ;*all the horses having been secured 
and carried into the country during the pronunciamentos ; after 
a bowl of frijoles and tortillas, we were obliged to remount our 
wearied beasts, and toil slowly onward. 

The same evening we reached the town of San Miguel, when 



282 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



another of those infernal pronunciamentos was brewing, but a 
polite old gentleman procured me a relay, and away we rattled over 
a dry undulating champaigne country to Mir on dillo, where finding 
another remuda, and leaving Cerro Gordo on the left, the full moon 
lighted us safely into Tepetitlan. Here I proposed tarrying, but 
the meson was so filthy and detestable — so full of fleas and un- 
comfortable, that wearied as I was, after vainly trying to sleep 
on a table, I ordered fresh horses, and departed at midnight. In 
two hours, becoming too sleepy to keep the saddle, notwithstand- 
ing Jose made his macarte fast to my steed's neck and towed us 
some distance, we fell in with an encampment of arrieros and 
their mules, who, after a strict reconnoissance, very kindly allowed 
us to bivouac near their fires. 

In no other part of the world do I believe there can be found 
such a worthy, brave, hardworking, and industrious class of per- 
sons as the arrieros of Mexico ; they are proverbial for honesty, 
and there is scarcely an instance known where they have proved 
unfaithful ; trusted for weeks and months with the most valuable 
cargoes, from silks to gold, in a country, too, where crime in its 
worst forms is rife, and where detection is vain, they still appear 
a distinct race from their thievish countrymen, and preserve an 
integrity seldom met with. 

At the first blush of morn, the encampment was astir. Calling 
and whistling to the mules, the sagacious brutes came regularly 
to the spot where their pack was deposited, were in turn loaded, 
and sent en after the bell mules in advance. Meanwhile, the 
drivers prepared a hasty breakfast, which was hastily eaten — the 
eigarillo lighted, and off they trotted after their beasts. A good 
day's journey is six leagues — resting during the heat of the day. 

I stood gazing at them until they disappeared in the dim light 



PUENTE CALDERON. 283 

of morning ; then, by the embers of their fires, my guide boiled 
a small measure of coffee in a broken earthen pot found near by, 
when we put foot in stirrup, and came on in the opposite direc- 
tion. We rode rapidly to Puente Calderon, a small village at 
the foot of an abrupt elevation, with a noisy torrent dashing its 
turbid waters against the stone arches of the bridge. It was the 
spot where was fought one of the bloodiest revolutionary battles 
between the republican and royalist forces. Dismounting at a 
rude dwelling fronting the shelving, rocky street, with Meson cle 
la Patria chalked over the entrance, we entered the patio, where 
was standing a huge, ungainly vehicle — a kind of family van, 
drawn by nine stout mules — while beneath the portals of the inn- 
yard were half a dozen juveniles and a couple of staid, portly 
parents. Para servir ustedcs^ quoth I, Pase vcl lien, mur- 
mured the party ; Vamonos almorzar ! and accordingly I sat 
down on a saddle and partook of their hospitality. The family 
were destined to Guadalajara from a two months sojourn on their 
plantations, and were as ignorant of what was going on in the 
world as a fish under water. Indeed, in this particular, they were 
not singular examples ; and the ignorance of the peasantry was 
almost incredible. I frequently met individuals in the Western 
provinces, who, though they had heard of the war, had not the 
slightest conception with whom — unos gringos — some foreigners, 
they would say — and as for the simple information regarding short 
distances from place to place, or the nature of the road, and such 
trifling matters, it defied the most acute cross-examinations. 

The conversation at our breakfast ran upon the war, and revo- 
lutions of the country. "And where are you from, Senor?" 
asked the old lady, as she chucked a hot tortilla towards me. 
u From Mexico, and the peace is declared ! " Valgame Dios ! — ia 



284 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



it possible ! exclaimed they all in a breath ; " and will those horrible 
Yankees ever leave the city?" Si! si! "But, Senor, we are 
wondering who you are ?" Oh ! I 'm one of those demonios Yan- 
kees ! Jesu Maria ! dispense mi ami go ! screamed the Senora. 
The old gentleman offered his apologies, and we all laughed 
heartily ; but still I remarked the younger shoots of the family 
observing me with furtive glances, as if I might have been a wild 
animal lately uncaged. My hunger was soon appeased, and fresh 
horses carried us to Puente Grande. The river was much swollen 
and flowing over its rocky bed with turgid violence. Before cross- 
ing, I turned up the stream, selected a clean grassy bank, threw 
off my clothes, and plunged in. It afforded me great relief, in its 
icy coldness, for my leg was still painful with the hoof- prints of 
the vicious brute near San Juan del Rio. My ablutions seemed 
to create much surprise and amusement to a group of brown 
damsels washing on a green islet near by, who, on swimming 
towards them, changed their tune and retreated to the willowy 
thickets. My guide, Jose Maria, was vastly horrified and shocked, 
not so much at the conduct of the girls, as my own regardlessness 
of life and health, in having the temerity to lave in cold water. 
Se hace dano — be the death of you — he continually repeated, and 
related many direful incidents where persons had contracted dis- 
eases thereby, and had lived but a very few minutes after coming 
out ; perceiving that I was not affected to that extent, he at last 
discovered me to be a gringo , who could endure anything. We 
again mounted — changed horses in the town — were exempted 
from paying the rial toll at the bridge, on account of being an 
extraor dinar io del Go bier no — ate a melon — purchased a new whip 
with a lash like the thongs of a knout, and thence proceeded 
towards Guadalajara. Half way, we overtook two ladies with 



THUNDER-STORM. 285 



servants, mounted on fast mules, and we accompanied them to 
the city. As we rode through the suburban town of San Juan — 
where is the residence of the Bishop of Jalisco, with many fine 
houses and beautiful gardens, the rain began to fall, and by the 
time we reached the long Paseo, it was descending in cata- 
racts, with thunder and lightning resounding and flashing around 
us. I halted for shelter under the close-leafed protection of the 
trees that fringed the promenade ; but no arguments could in- 
duce my lady companions to do the same, and they were drenched 
with a torrent of waters, while standing in the middle of the 
road, fearing a shock of the rayo, beneath the foliage. 

I was the first to bring confirmed intelligence of the peace, to 
Guadalajara. The news of its passage through the Mexican 
Congress had already been received, and had caused some demon- 
strations in one of the regiments, instigated by agents of Paredes : 
more was anticipated upon the confirmation of the treaty, but 
nothing of importance occurred. There existed, as in Queretaro, 
a violent party among the military, opposed to the new govern- 
ment under Herrera. All moderate and reflecting ciudadanos 
were for peace : it was the policy of the State of Jalisco, though 
as patriotic as any. It was the wealthiest district of the whole 
Republic, and had much to lose and naught to gain, should the 
waves of invasion have rolled towards the Pacific. They had 
drawn a sage moral from the misfortunes of the neighboring 
provinces : they had beheld the largest and best appointed army 
Mexico ever put in the field, vanquished at Buena Vista ; they 
had seen a compact body of six thousand troops cleave their way 
through six times that force into the garitas of the capital, and 
they felt convinced that even half that veteran band of North 



2&6 CHAPTER XXXIV. 



Americans could sweep over the grand plateau, and as easily 
conquer the fair city of Guadalajara. 

At the time of my arrival, the state government felt assured of 
support, and besides having means at hand to prevent any insur- 
rection, had dispatched a battalion of three hundred soldiers, with 
two pieces of artillery, to oppose Paredes. Nevertheless, pre- 
parations had been made to guard against any attempt nearer 
home, and on passing through a private apartment of an official 
residence, I observed a number of persons busily employed 
making ball-cartridges, but, as usual, they were too greatly dis- 
proportioned with powder, and as a consequence the Mexicans 
generally overshoot the mark. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

I was duly installed in my former lodgings at the French 
fonda, and in the afternoon, being a holiday, went to the Plaza de 
Toros. The arena was spacious, but without the wooden screens 
within the circle to protect the tauridors and bandilleros, as is seen 
in the bull-rings of old Spain. The amphitheatre was well 
arranged, and capable of containing many thousands, with a 
separate enclosure, at a more elevated stand, filled with troops, 
with fixed bayonets, and commanding a good sweep around the 
audience. - The exhibition was more of a cow-combat than an 
old-fashioned bull-fight ; they are miserable, disgusting scenes at 
best, and the stranger ever takes sides with the tortured beasts 
against their brutal tormentors. Here the horns were sawed 
partly off, or blunted with leaden beads ; in other respects the 
affair was conducted -as elsewhere. As the military governor, 
Yanes, appeared beneath his crimson canopy, the music ceased ; 
the gayly-dressed bands of pic adores, bandilleros, tauridors, on 
foot and horse, headed by the Matador, with long toledo in his 
hands, bowed reverently before the General and Judges ; then 
crossing themselves, a pause ensued ; the dulce men, and cigar 
venders, old beldames with chairs, and boys with sombra — shade 
tickets — held their peace. The arena was cleared of all but the 
mounted prickers and scarfmen; a bugle sounded, low, heavy 



288 CHAPTER XXXV 



panels within the barricade of the circus swung back, and in 
rushed the bulls. It is always to me the finest sight, when the 
fierce beast — before becoming blinded with rage — lightly stirs the 
ground bark with his fore foot, moves his head slowly from side 
to side — the eyes flaming in a sparkle of lambent jet — when with 
breath short and quick, with a wary glance around, he selects — 
poor fool — some light, fluttering object, instead of the arms that 
wave it, gives one deep angry bellow, and dashes forward. Then 
begin the leaping antics of his active enemies : they tease him to 
insanity, fire-work him, until the sulphurous flames blister his 
tough hide ; hood him, prick him, stab him — he is killed ; and the 
two white steeds, decorated with streaming red ribbons, bound in, 
and the slaughtered beast, with glassy eyes and lolling tongue, is 
dragged out. Sometimes, though rarely, the animal is terrified 
by his novel position, and no coaxing will make him show fight ; 
then boys and vagabonds generally are permitted to leap the 
barricades, and chase the scared brute about the circus, with 
shouts and hisses, when he is driven out to feed the dogs. Then 
there are cheering gritcs for particularly dextrous picadors, 
who, with long poles, and a short spike at the end, afoot, 
withstand th.3 lunge of the bull, until the hide in the terrible 
exertion is nearly entirely loosened from the frame ; or when the 
daring Matador, with a single vigorous plunge, drives the long 
blade to the very hilt, through a bloody sheath, into the tired 
beast. Again at Ion go intervallo^ a few coins are flung into the 
circle, to reward the favored gladiators. All this, with plenty of 
dust, oceans of orchata, and a fair show of lovely faces, made up 
the bull fight. 

Later in the evening I attended the kind Padre to the 
Comedia. The theatre was small, prettily painted, gilded, 



LA COMEDIA. 289 



carved, and particularly well-stocked with fleas. The audience 
was highly respectable, and the female portion still preserved rny 
appreciation of their beauty on the former visit — there was less 
youth, but an equal degree of matronly comeliness. Unlike the 
saffron-hue d damsels generally seen throughout Mexico, these 
donas had rounded forms, rosy complexions, and such soft, 
languid eyes, and hair so smoothly banded or braided, that I often 
felt tempted to pass my hand over the satin tresses of a lovely 
woman seated before me. 

The play was a most horrible tragedy — all about Moors, 
Guzma-ns and Granada. The actors magnificently dressed, heav- 
ing unnecessarily long respirations at every word — in fact a 
gasping species of elocution. The prompter, too, within his 
covered trap behind the foot-lights, wheezed like one far gone in 
the asthma, with a voice louder than the performers. 

The audience puffed paper cigars — men, women and children — 
until the smoke became so dense, that nothing was perceptible 
on the stage, save alone the shining avmof that encased the legs 
of a Moor. 

The curtain fell at midnight j| and after an hour passed in a 
brilliant cafe, sipping ices anoV^uneh, I returned to mine inn. 

It was with unfeigned regret I parted with the gentlemen who 
had been civil to me at Guadalajara — particularly Senor Llamas 
and the excellent Padre — may they abide muchos anos — in health 
and prosperity in their beautiful city. 

On the 7th of June, escorted by my former antique guide, 
CyprianO) who quite reminded me of a knight of the dark ages, 
with lance and pennon, we got in the saddle, at nine by the 
evening clock, and pursued our path through the silent lanes and 
suburbs of the city. Without the moon to light our footsteps, 
13 



290 CHAPTER XXXV. 



we were four weary hours at a snail's pace in reaching the 
Porton, or Garita, when, after much parleying from house-tops 
and gratings, the lazy, sleepy sentinels were persuaded to let down 
the chains, that barred the gateway, and we passed out upon the 
main road. The officer on guard informed us that the troops 
had, some weeks before, surprised and captured a number of the 
Ladrons, near Tequilla, and sixteen had already been executed, 
with a choice reserve of nine more that were to be shot on the 
morrow; all of which impressed me as extremely wise and 
judicious measures. 

We went jogging along, haying no change of beasts, for I had 
bought a stout spotted roadster, called by the natives pinto — 
painted — but by me Circo, because of his resemblance to those 
variegated quadrupeds commonly exhibited in the Olympic sports 
of North America. Towards daylight I took a nap beside a 
rivulet, and with the sun arose, and had a delicious dip in the 
pure water — all the reasoning powers of my ancient mozo to the 
contrary. And here I feel, in gratitude, called upon to say a feeble 
word in praise of Mexican guides. They, indeed, should be 
classed with arrieros ! Their attentions are unceasing. I found 
them honest, obliging, good-tempered, and possessing a certain 
share of local and traditionary intelligence. They appeared to 
exist without sleep, too ; for whenever I laid down, I pointed to 
sun or stars, as a celestial clock, to mark the hours and true to 
the dial — was always awakened at the proper time, finding all 
ready for mounting, even to the spurs attached to my feet. 
Ha dornudo vd bien ? quiere vd tantito de pan ? una copita de 
licor, pues ! says your guide, producing the morsel of bread or 
wine from the pouches of the saddle ; but if neither be required, 
he will roll, and light you a cigarillo, and if he sees you enjoying 



MADELENA. 291 



its soothing flavor, he throws up his hand and exclaims, c Ay I mi 
alma ! estd bueno! I've hit your fancy now ;' and continues the 
route with renewed good humor, apparently amply happy that he 
has effected something to please you. Such a one was old Cypri- 
ano ; besides having a fund of marvellous legends — upon every 
stone cross or mountain pass in Mexico — that very much re- 
lieved the occasional monotony and fatigue of the journey. 

The ride was dreadfully oppressive with heat and dust, besides 
fear of robbers, which, after a by-no-means hearty breakfast on 
a water-melon I had no stomach for. An hour past noon we 
drew up near the environs of Tequilla, and remained sleeping by 
the side of the stream, until the declining sun warned us to be 
off. The horses and myself had been washed and fed, and with 
a cooler atmosphere, we toiled over bad roads, hilly, rocky and 
dusty, when soon after nightfall the twinkling lights of Made- 
lena were visible, and we trotted into the Meson. The neigh- 
borhood had become quiet since my departure ; the compadres 
dispersed, and the paisanos had thrown aside the weapons they dared 
not use. It was too late for a call upon the Alcalde, and my 
venerable guide ordered supper. The patron of the inn was 
not an obliging person — not anxious to add to the comforts of his 
guests. He had a pair of daughters flitting about' the yard 
in loose undress, who busied themselves for an hour in the 
attempt to boil eggs to my liking ; but after the fifteenth trial, 
some as hard as brickbats, and others hardly warmed, the effort 
was relinquished, and I contented myself with the national dish 
of frijoles, which is ever an excellent preparation, and invariably 
well cooked. Meanwhile, the surly patron kept a lynx-eyed 
supervision upon the erratic damsels ; and they never came near 
the bench, laid for our supper, without he would snatch the dish 



292 CHAPTER XXXV. 



from their fair hands, and, with a rough push, cry " Basta ! basta ! 
muchacha ! anda ! Be off with you." Old Cypriano lost patience 
at last ; and seizing his lance, swore by the Holy Virgin if he did 
not know how to treat a cavallero, who spent his cash like a king, 
he'd teach him — he would !" These threats had the desired 
effect ; and calling off his handmaidens, he sent them to the cocina, 
sat down before the door, and left us in peace. I remained at the 
Meson until daylight, reclining on a large rough-built settee in 
the patio, with no other covering than a comfortable serapa 
between my body and a canopy of stars : certainly preferable 
to the close, damp holes within the building, where fleas and ver- 
min parade in battalions on the look-out for wayworn travellers 
Moreover, nothing can exceed the delicious atmosphere of the 
nights, in the Tier r a templada of Mexico, soft, yet invigorat- 
ing — clear, calm and refreshing. I speak, of course, of the dry 
season — with the rains one must seek a more modern habitation. 

My venerable soldier had the pinto, grinding his last mouthful 
of grain beside me, ready for a start. I arose, as the sailors 
say, wide awake as a black fish, and swung into the saddle. 
Vayase con Dios — go to heaven, or the other place, just as the into- 
nation implies — said the gram inn keeper. Hasta nunca — hope 
never to see your ugly phiz again — retorted Cypriano, as he grip- 
ingly counted out the rials for our entertainment ; I threw some- 
thing more weighty to the muchachas, who repaid me with kindly 
wishes. 

With the fresh air of morning we left Madelena, and kept for 
some miles along the borders of a broad, shallow lake, of the 
same name, until the road diverged to the right, when we were 
obliged to forsake the good ground, and level country, for tedious 
labor, over mule paths and rugged mountains. 



MUCHATILTI. 293 



At Muehatilti we passed some ninety soldiers, horse anl foot, 
barefoot, conveying a pack of rascally-looking thieves, and a small 
field piece. They were attended by twice this number of 
women and children, who at times relieved their liege lords of 
muskets or equipments, with the weight of camp utensils on 
their heads. On questioning a sergeant belonging to the de- 
tachment, he told me they generally marched four leagues a day, 
and in many places were obliged to throw the gun from its car- 
riage, and transport each part separately for leagues at a time. 
This person also assured me, that he had served at the battle of 
Buena Vista, and with his company of infantry had marched 
twenty-eight leagues in forty-eight hours, with but a pint of 
parched Indian corn, and a quart of water per man ! So far as 
marching, and powers of enduring privation go, I presume the 
Mexicans can do as much, if not more, than other nations. 
They are not deficient in courage either, when well ofiicered and 
led — some of their bloody internal struggles attest it — but with 
us they proved sadly deficient in both. 

I have but little knowledge of what constitutes the proper 
field for extended military operations ; but from a few indifferent 
ideas picked up in other countries, as well as in this trip through 
Mexico, I think I may hazard the belief that in the line of 
march from Guadalajara towards the Pacific, there are seldom met 
with positions adapted to the operations of large bodies of troops, 
and save in the vicinity of large towns, an army of any magni- 
tude would find difficulty in procuring subsistence ; for the 
country is thinly populated, and but little land under cultivation, 
and though I should judge not totally impassible for artillery, it 
certainly seems an impracticable route for a numerous train, or 
heavy guns. 



294 CHAPTER XXXV. 



Making no longer stay at the brightly-stained inn of Mucha- 
tilti than was requisite to swallow a cup of coffee, and thrash a 
filthy Indian for being caught flagrante delict u — stealing a bit of 
silver from my bridle — we traversed the table-land beyond, 
and began zigzaging through defiles of mountains on the ap- 
proach to the Plan de Barrancas. The sky became overcast — 
thunder was growling angrily in the distance, when we overtook 
a drove of mules, the arrieros urging them at speed down a valley to 
escape the fury of the impending storm. Descending to the base 
of a gorge, we crossed the rocky bed of a rippling brook, and re- 
moving the saddles from our horses, led them above, and secured 
them to a tree, whilst we ascended still higher, and sought 
refuge under the lee of a great shelving crag that had once 
formed part of the stupendous wall, five thousand feet above us. 
Rain began to fall in large heavy drops, lightning to glare, 
and thunder came nearer. The air was perfectly still ; and tb* 
sharp whistles and cries of the drivers echoed and re-echoed from 
side to side of the chasm, as they hurried their beasts across the 
stream. By-and-by a strong gust of wind went rushing over- 
head, the thunder came crashing yet closer, the dark slate- 
colored clouds poured down in torrents, and lightning forked, 
flashing and vivid, made the narrow valley tremulous with noise 
and fire. The rain descended in unbroken sheets, and in 
an inconceivably short space of time, the bubbling brook had be- 
come a boiling torrent, swelling and leaping from rock to rock, 
until, at last, joining in the uproar of rain, wind, flame and 
thunder, the rocks themselves were loosened, and came rumbling 
and crashing down the steep gorges, and were swept away* in the 
whirlpool of foaming waters. He who has never beheld a quickly- 
raised storm amid wild mountain passes, and the amazing power of 



THE NUBARRADA. 295 



the elements, can have but a vague idea of Nature when clothed 
in all her angry grandeur and sublimity. 

The nubarrada was soon over, but the whole face of the valley 
was changed : trees and undergrowth had been torn up by the 
roots or washed down — deep fissures had been cut wherever the 
reel clayey soil gave play to the impetuous currents — masses of 
basaltic granite had been dislodged, thrown from their founda- 
tions, hurled some distance below, and either served to block up 
some open channel, or enlarge others ; and the point where the 
path crossed the stream had been burrowed out into a deep, 
raging pool, which would in future be impassible. 

One of the poor mules belonging to the drove, with his cargo 
of sugar, had been caught and carried away in the contending 
water ; the arrieros cursed like infidels, and wickedly declared they 
had long before wished a like fate might befall him for his stu- 
pidity. 

As the thunder went muttering to the adjacent mountains, and 
the flood was still deluging our devoted heads, I yelled into the ear 
of Cypriano, who all the while kept his cigarillo alight, that it was 
una cosa rica — a fine display — tiene vd rason — " there's sense in 
that," said the old man, " but wouldn't you rather have a 
dry serapa and calconcillos ?" So forthwith he wrung the mois- 
ture from my garments, and we prepared the horses for service. 
Leading them by a dangerous foothold down the course of the 
stream, we came to an enlarged basin, and halted on a smooth 
belt of rocks. Here the sun shown again warm and cheerily — we 
dried our reeking raiment, and I amused myself the while under 
a hVht cascade of turbid water. 

o 

At midday we had toiled slowly up the steep sides of the Bar- 
rancas, and four hours later, left the last link of the Sierra, and 



296 CHAPTER XXXV. 



drew bridles at Istlan. Having no further need of the post ad- 
niinistrador, or the services of his vivo mule, I sought the 
public meson. Here were seated under the portals a select group 
of politicians, listening to, and commenting upon an article in an 
old newspaper, read with much emphasis by a dirty jacketless 
person, with a head so large, and buried so deeply between his 
shoulders, as to bear a close resemblance to a turtle. Senor, 
said he, as I dismounted, rising with a graceful gesture, " the 
good patron of the inn is away ; the caballero who addresses you 
is the well known licenciado Don Augustin Jarano — criado de vd : 
What can be done for you ? that is a noble animal you bestride ; 
he is tired ! beat out — dead ! You will profit by an exchange — 
my friend, here," winking to one of his auditors, " has an 
angel of a beast — tienes sobre pasos — has a gait like a lady — 
paces ! and has refused two ounces — eh ! no ! quarante douros — 
forty hard dollars !" JBuenOj I replied, much to the horror 
of my guide, who began to think the sharp advocate was going 
to become the owner of the pinto. After a world of tugging and 
struggling a miserable spavined nag was pulled from a corral 
to the patio, and secured to a post. Waiting until the praises of 
this muy bucno cavallo — this fine steed — had been fully sounded, 
I made them a prompt offer of six rials for him as he stood ! — 
when, finding the gringo was not to be so easily jockeyed, they 
declared he was not worth half the money, and we became warm 
friends at once. I tarried an hour, discussing the right of church 
taxation; when- Cypriano, having had a fowl grilled, a bowl of 
frijoles, bread, and country wine, snugly stowed in the alforgas^ 
I informed my acute acquaintances that I was bound to Guada- 
lajara, bid them adios, and after skirting the pretty town, 
turned to the opposite direction. It is always advisable in 



WE ARE MADE UNHAPPf. 297 



Mexico while travelling, to avoid if possible public places, and 
keep the destination secret ; for the compadres — highwaymen — 
are often in collusion with people about mesons and derive infor- 
mation of the guests from those sources. „ 

Striking a path on the banks of a pretty stream, we shortly 
found a secluded nook, beneath a scrub olive-tree, where the 
beasts were bathed, fed, and picketted in the rich grasses, when 
we did much the same, and took a comfortable siesta beside them. 

Towards evening resuming the journey, a few leagues carried 
us to Aguacatlan ; to preserve the strength of our animals for a 
thirty leagues' travel on the morrow, I concluded to remain until 
daylight. The spacious fonda was filled with guests, and I made 
the acquaintance of an agreeable young Irishman, from Tepic. 
In an adjoining room there was a large family of senoritas, con- 
voyed by a venerable matron and servants. They were very 
chatty and amiable while sitting in the patio in front of their 
domicile ; so much so, in fact, that the sefiora became suspicious, 
and, as my Milesian companion remarked, " corraVd the 
dongellas too early in the evening." The duenna had no com- 
passion for bachelors, and we saw no more of their fluttering 
white dresses and ribosas ; though we could hear them frolick- 
ing and shouting in great glee, which was very provoking, as 
windows there were none, and Spanish bolts and portals being 
famous for strength and solidity, we were obliged to relinquish 
any further hope of their charming society. 

It was getting late, old Cypriano was sitting at my door, 

enveloped in a serapa, giving no signs of life, save the occasional 

reluming of the cigarillo, like a dim glow-worm, betwixt hk 

teeth. The honest fellow needed rest, and saying Buenos n aches 

13* 



298 CHAPTER XXXV. 



I threw myself upon the brick bedstead, with saddle for pillow 
and was soon asleep. 

Before sunset on the following afternoon, my gallant little 
J^east galloped bravely into Tepic, and I was again made quite at 
home with Mr. Bisseil. A vessel was awaiting me at San Bias, 
but the passage being a tedious one to Mazatlan by sea, I con- 
cluded to pursue the land route along the coast to the latter port, 
on the following night, and accordingly called on General Aristi, 
who endorsed my passport, and I then took a post license. I 
was sorry to discharge my faithful old guide, Cypriano, but a 
liberal donation, and present of the pinto served to lessen our 
mutual grief. He still hung about the court-yard, jealous of the 
attentions shown me by others, and buckling on my spurs, affec- 
tionately pressed my legs at parting. 

I rode about Tepic, with a young Englishman, who was hand- 
some enough to drive all the women in town distracted. The 
city has not the air of stir and bustle, like other places of note in 
the interior, nor is it so well built ; it has charms, however, in 
quietude, in verdant fields, the fertility of its lovely plain, its swift 
streams, long lines of gardens, -all looking as if calmly cradled in 
the arms of the giant sierras that encircle it. 

The rainy season was approaching, and whilst we were 
bathing in the little rush and mat-built cabins by the river, 
the first shower fell — there were numbers of ladies and 
children beneath the leafy frames, which only served for 
shelter a moment, and at last, in desperation, groups of 
them sallied out for a run to the town ; the effort was ineffect- 
ual, the gusts of wind and rain drove them back, with light 
dresses completely saturated, and clinging to round pretty limbs 
only more exposed in efforts to conceal them. Our gallant offers 



RIO GRANDE AND SANTIAGO. 299 



of assistance were all in vain, they only screamed and laughed 
the louder the nearer we advanced ; thus on the wet grass they 
reclined, and remained in the heavy rains until servants returned 
with shawls and wrappers, when, with many a light laugh and 
flashing glance, they ran across the plain. 

Although prepared to leave Tepic at midnight, the^ rain was 
violent and darkness too black to begin the journey. Towards 
daylight, with guide and postboy, and closely buttoned armas, 
of skin leggings, with faces turned from the tempest, we made the 
attempt. We had not proceeded much beyond the city, when 
the roads became so exceedingly slippery over a clayey soil, and 
our progress so tedious and dangerous, that we dismounted at a 
rancho, and were compelled to remain until near noon. By this 
time the heaviest clouds had apparently squeezed themselves dry, 
and under light droppings we again pushed on and commenced 
descending very gradually from the grand plateau towards the 
Tierra Caliente below. This I did not accomplish without having 
my steed to fall with me, but luckily escaped injury, the saddle 
bearing the brunt of the shock, and a broken stirrup saving my 
leg and foot from a like mishap. We reached the low lands 
within eio"ht leagues of San Bias, and found a disagreeable con- 
trast in the dry heat, from the salubrious atmosphere above. 

Changing horses and rapid riding brought us to the main trunk 
of the Rio Grande, when embarking with our saddles and geer, in 
broad canoes, we were ferried to the opposite bank at Santiago. 
The river is wide, rapid and muddy. Small houses of rushes ex- 
tended from the banks, and hundreds of people were washing or 
bathing within them. 

The town appeared to have been visited with a heavy shower 
of water-melons ; I had never before seen such quantities In 



300 CHAPTER XXXV. 



front of every house there were pyramids five feet high, like racks 
of shot in an ordnance yard ; every man, woman and child had 
their heads immersed to the ears in huge fragments ; even cattle, 
swine and dogs were at work, and the river, too, was covered with 
seeds and rinds. It was not surprising, that under sach a novel 
dispensation, there was delay in procuring horses ; to pass my 
time I supplied myself with a huge green monster of its spe- 
cies, engaged a little shed of rushes, and cooled my limbs in the 
tepid waters, which last feat did not in the least shock the modesty 
of an ancient planckadora — washerwoman — who carried on her 
occupation quite unconcernedly beside me. 

Under lash and spur away we went in great good humor, but 
had not gone a league, when I waxed exceeding wroth on dis- 
covering that some watchful thief had stolen three ounces from 
my hat while bathing — it was too late to return, and we con- 
signed him to his just deserts. The roads were perfectly level, 
dry and sandy ; at times we scented the ocean air, borne along by 
the regular sea breeze, and the atmosphere was filled with knats 
and musqtiitoes, that by no means enlivened the journey. The 
vegetation had changed, and we passed for leagues through groves 
of tapering palm trees, broad-leafed bananas, rank vines and 
vegetation. Fording the Rio San Pedro, we traversed the little 
towns of Rosa Morada and Buena Vista, thence over the Rio 
Cana to Acaponeta. The river was a clear, shallow stream, and 
had not yet been swollen or turbid by the freshets near its source 
above. We had ridden all night, and sending my mozo to the town, 
with the post boy who had suffered severely from the sting of an 
alacran, a venomous scorpion, I remained to bathe and put on my 
other shirt. 

During the entire trip to and from Mexico, I found that by 



ACAPONETA. 301 



eating sparingly of light food, smoking less, and laving constantly, 
I could endure almost any amount of fatigue, with but an hour or 
two of sleep in the twenty -four ; a few paper cigarillos was all the 
extraneous stimulant I indulged in while on the road. 

Acoponeta is a hot little town, half built of mud, with a spa- 
cious rural-like square, shaded by fine trees, and boasting of a 
quaint old church. It is but a few leagues from the ocean, sur- 
rounded by a sandy soil, which however, under the sun's fierce 
rays, over all the Tierra Caliente, produces quantities of tropical 
plants : the cassava for meal, bananas and guavas, with melons 
and many kinds of fruit. The inhabitants of these secluded dis- 
tricts, living in little worlds of their own, free from care or 
war, regardless of the political revolutions so continually agitating 
the mother country, seem to enjoy the dolce far niente in its 
truest sense. They are *'too poor to excite the rapacity of the 
government ; their land yields almost spontaneously all means 
of subsistence ; they live in mud cabins or bamboo huts, through 
whose light lattice-work of reeds or trellis, the sea breeze cools 
them during the languid siesta ; then at the fiesta or fandango, 
the women, in white muslin camizettas and gaily striped bas- 
quinas, with gilt baubles, perhaps, thrust through their black 
locks, attended by the men, whose only wealth consists of horse, 
saddle, spurs and serapa — dance, game and drink until the fiesta 
is ended, with no fears of interruption save what lies in the sharp 
steel of their mercurial cuchillos — ignorant and unenvious of all 
around them. 

I found my guide in the Plaza, and walked into a white build- 
ing on a corner, purporting to be a Fonda y Billar. It was Sun- 
day morning, besides some notable feast day ; a little old spider- 
legged uneven billiard table was thronged by rakish blades, with 



302 CHAPTER XXXV. 



little miniature nine pins stuck in the centre of the cloth, which 
were being rapidly knocked down by the players ; a pulperia was 
close at hand, and the chink of copiiaSj filled with aguadiente or 
muscal, was keeping a musical accompaniment to the click of the 
billiard balls. The patron was an active, portly person, and from 
his clean, natty attire and huge beard, with a certain sea roll to 
his gait, I correctly surmised that he had " sailed the broad ocean," 
or that he might have been a retired pirate. He received me 
very hospitably, ordered a lithe black-eyed little girl of ten years 
not to go to the Iglesia until El Capitan had made a breakfast, and 
pointing to a bedstead in the sala, upon which was tightly stretched 
a side of dressed leather, desired me to repose until he could pro- 
cure horses. 

From my position I had a clear view around the Plaza — 
crowds of gaily-dressed paisanos were moving from house to house, 
or thronging the bough-built booths and little shops, all strewed 
beneath the lofty trees, sipping dulces, making purchases, eating 
fruit, smoking or gaming. Presently the large bell began tolling 
for high mass ; like magic, at the first stroke of the iron tongue, 
traffic ceased, the monte was discontinued, the dealer putting by 
money and cards ; half eaten fruit was thrown upon the ground, 
children ceased squalling, caracolling steeds were reined sharply 
back by riders crossing the square, the noise of balls and glasses 
in the Billar and Tienda was silenced, hats were reverently doff- 
ed, cigarillos dropped, and the hum and murmur of many voices 
had passed away. Then, as the little chimes with noisy throats 
were bursting forth in clanging peals, the whole concourse of per- 
sons that filled the plaza went moving with uncovered heads, 
sombreros in hand, toward the church, and now the organ rose in 
solemn strains, embers were swinging, multitudes of tapers were 



TIERRA CALIENTE. 303 

twinkling within the nave, like stars in the firmament, while 
hundreds were kneeling in piety and awe before the shrines they 
worshipped. In no portion of the world can there be found more 
true respect for religion or real reverence, than in some parts of 
Mexico, and the truthfulness and simplicity with which they con- 
duct the beautiful ceremonials of the catholic church, is not a 
flattering commentary upon the indifferent professions of more 
enlightened countries. 

In witnessing this impressive scene, I sighed to become a con- 
vert, and indeed I felt convinced that if I had had the persuasive 
lips exerted for my conversion, that pertained to the penserosa 
face and Murillo eyes of my host's graceful little daughter, I 
should have thrown away the sword for the cross on the spot. 
She was standing with half raised eyes, and an impatient expres- 
sion, wondering very naturally, no doubt, why the gringo did not 
swallow the eggs and milk she had prepared by her sire's com- 
mands — Quiere listed mas Senorl — want anything else — she mur- 
mured, with a pretty, petulant frown ; " No ! no ! ami git a ! mil 
gracias, forgive me for detaining you from the mass ;" her face 
brightened joyously, and readjusting her little flowing ribosa, she 
tripped away to her devotions. 

Horses were soon at the door, and passing beside the now- 
deserted booths and shade, we once more became exposed to the 
burning glare of the tropical sun. During the afternoon, light 
showers of rain chased us along the road — a great relief from 
breathing the light sandy dust of the parched soil ; but as night 
came on, and our track led through interminable forests of syca- 
mores, closely woven with thousands of creeping vines and para- 
sitical plants, the very light and air were shut out, and what with 
myriads of stinging insects, heat and dust, I thought of never 



304 CHAPTER XXXV. 



surviving. Two hours past midnight we emerged from these 
sultry groves, and reached the village of Esquinapa, where, 
changing steeds, I was attended by an old post boy, named 
Tomas ; and fftun the moment I unceremoniously disturbed his 
slumbers until we parted, he never ceased singing and rhym- 
ing. He would have made a character for Cervantes. Awak- 
ing with a couplet on his tongue, he followed it up by a trite 
Spanish proverb, hit off scores of doggerel, like an improvisatore, 
on my name, and, indeed, with his joyous, hearty old laugh- 
ter, that acted like an epidemic in every scar and wrinkle of his 
fine bronzed face — with generous bonhommie and good humor, he 
kept me full of merriment the nine leagues we travelled ; and I 
have only to regret, for my own satisfaction, not having noted 
some of his poetical sallies. 

We gained the Rio Rosario before dawn, and halted between 
two channels, on a dry pebbly spot, where, throwing myself from 
the saddle, I plunged into the running water, and then, with a 
little mound of sand for a pillow, took the first half-hours sleep 
since leaving Tepic. At sunrise, old Tomas aroused me with a 
verse and song, and fording the remaining fork of the river, we 
entered Rosario. It is a place of some importance, with a num- 
ber of substantial public buildings — internal custom house, a 
tobacco monopoly, and barracks for a military commandancia ; in 
fact less provincial, more modernized with cafes, shops, socie- 
dads, and well-constructed houses than any town of the Tierra 
Caliente, save Mazatlan. While awaiting a relay, I was 
regaled by the gentlemanly administrador of the Duana with a 
cup of delicious chocolate, and in turn favored him with late 
news from the capital. 

Departing from Rosario, which is nearly thirty leagues from 



HOW TO TRAVEL IN MEXICO. 305 



the Port, I came on at a flying gallop to the old Presidio ; then 
tarrying for breakfast with General Anaya, I again continued 
with all speed to Urias, where my horse's heels, and my own 
anxiety, outstripped the broken wind of the guide's, and I never 
drew rein before reaching the Marismas of Mazatlan. The tide 
was very high, and I was almost forced to swim ; but encouraged 
by a cavalcade of gentlemen on the opposite shore, I struggled 
through, and was greeted by hosts of acquaintances, who, by 
mere accident and fun, had proposed to meet me on the road. I 
feel assured that I never shall be so handsomely escorted again ; 
and what added to the eclat of my arrival was, that upon 
entering the crowded plaza a polite commissary ordered the band 
to play " Hail Columbia !" and I was nothing loth to hide my 
blushes, travel-stained garments, and jaded horse, from the ad- 
miring populace, and seek refuge within the residence of the 
Governor. 

Thus terminated my rough notes and jolts in a Mexican sad- 
dle, after a journey of near twenty-five hundred miles, mostly 
on horseback; and the last one hundred and twelve leagues 
from Tepic performed in fifty-three hours, which was said to be 
the quickest trip on record. I was happy that the journey was 
finished ; and although I experienced no subsequent fatigue, and 
my frame was much stronger, yet it is an undertaking that 
I should not be anxious to attempt again. 

When a gentleman travels in Mexico, he goes provided with 
beds and baggage on pack mules, and half a dozen attendants at 
least, armed to the teeth, and ready to do battle when occasion re- 
quires. In my case it was different : at all times hurried, with at 
best but indifferent beasts — riding night and day together — never 
meeting a person on the roads without a mutual fumbling in the 



306 CHAPTER XXXV. 



holsters for pistols, not knowing whether in raising the hand 
to the sombrero, it is intended to salute or shoot you, as friend 
or foe ; yet, the provinces of the Republic that I traversed were 
out of the beaten track of tourists, with portfolios and poodles — 
a country where one is jper force obliged to rough it a little ; 
and where in the first essay, as in my case, the novelty and 
excitement attending fresh scenes, varied scenery, strange forms, 
manners and habits, more than balanced the fatigue, insecurity 
and annoyances of the journey. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

My arrival happened on the 13th of June. The garrison had 
been very much strengthened, and a block-house was under con- 
struction near the estero, with the expectation of holding the 
town during the rainy season and bad weather, in the absence 
of force afloat. The news of the peace changed these plans, 
and preparations were commenced for evacuating the town. 

My little post at the Garita had been relieved of its old 
garrison, and fallen into strange hands, so I took quarters with 
my good friend Don Guillermo and Sefior Molinero, where we 
lounged all day in the cool patios, under the awnings, smoking 
away like Turks. Mazatlan was extremely gay, owing to the 
yearly festival that takes place on the Olas Atlas — a curving 
beach between two bluff promontories facing the ocean. . I am 
ignorant if there be in the calendar a patron saint devoted to 
gamblers, or I should certainly believe that this jubilee was ex- 
pressly dedicated to him. 

There were a great number of bough and cane-built booths 
raised on the sandy promenade, all prettily draped with muslin 
and other light fabrics, each having a tasteful display of liquors 
and fruits, with little saloons screened off, and facing the sea, for 
either eating or gaming : further on were stout upright poles, 
firmly planted in the ground, supporting circularly swinging 



308 CHAPTER XXXVI. 



coaches or wooden horses, some revolving perpendicularly, while 
others described the horizontal circuit : beyond were meaner bar- 
racas for the lower orders — gaming, mountebanks, juggling, eat- 
ing, and maybe a little fighting. 

Towards nightfall the population assembled on the Olas Altas, 
and the scene became very gay and animated — the monte tables 
were thronged — dollars and ounces of gold chinking incessantly — 
loto banks playing for prizes of dulces or licores — Indians with 
figured boards and dice, making more noise than their confreres in 
the trade, betting coppers or fried fish. The cars and horses were 
filled with delighted paisanos, who were enjoying the pleasures of 
city life. At the fandangos, too ! were girls in their gayest 
dresses, dancing to the enlivening music of harps and guitars, 
bursting forth at intervals with some shrill chaunt or ballad, to 
relieve their nimble feet, perhaps, from exertions attending the 
jar able or jot a. It is altogether quite an attractive spot ; and when 
one is tired of the monte, bowling at Smithers', or dancing at 
the fandangos, there is the sparkling surf at your feet, where the 
energies may be revived for a cosy supper with some fascinating 
little Mexicanas, who are never known to decline a cup of 
chocolate and sweetmeats. 

The influx of so many strangers from the surrounding country 
was not particularly advantageous to the morals of the Mazatlanese 
community : petty thieving and pilfering were all the rage. 
One evening some expert practitioner contrived to entice a valu- 
able pair of pistols, clothing, and other articles from my table in 
the centre of a large apartment, by introducing a pole and hook 
through the iron grille of the window ; and the same night my 
friend Molinero was robbed of his bed-clothes, while sleeping, 
by the same enterprising method. Indeed I incline to the belief 



HOW TO LEARN CASTILIAN. 309 

that one may have the gold from his molars picked out, if the 
mouth chances to be opened, in a crowd of these cunning leperos. 
My consolation was, in being aware that they had niched all 
worth stealing, and in being indifferent to future depredations. 

The first night of my arrival I met our former little house- 
keeper at the Olas Altas, surrounded by a group of merry friends : 
u Ah ! dios ! she exclaimed, " but they told me you were never 
to return — what diablitos those Yankees for telling such fibs. 
You have been gone just five Doming os " — they count by Sun- 
days, — " and that loco gringo ami go of yours nearly ruined your 
horse, and came near breaking his own neck in the plaza — 
gracios a Dios/" Her breath being by this time exhausted, 
we made up a little purse, or vaca, and fortune befriending it at 
the monte, we sent her home, with enough silver to keep her 
Cuartel going for a twelvemonth. Early the next morning she 
was at my bedside, saying, Digame de sus viajes — tell me your 
adventures. To be relieved of her inquisitiveness, and get more 
sleep, I threw around her pretty throat a silver image ami chain 
of our lady of Guadalupe which saved me any more exercises in the 
Spanish idiom until breakfast. And, by the way, ignorant 
people may indulge the idea that the Castilian tongue may easily 
be acquired " without a master," but, so far as my individual 
experience goes, no study is comparable to its acquisition with 
a tutoress, who, with the charms of bright eyes, rosy lips, 
and clear natal enunciation, renders the task not only facile, 
but pleasurable. I would advise any person who wishes to 
become proficient in this beautiful language to pay his homage to 
some artless, unaffected senorita, who, although she may not 
be ultra-enthusiastic, will still seem pleased, and interested at all 
your blunders, correct you with a tap of her fan ; and if you be 



310 CHAPTER XXXVI. 



devoted, though stupid, will forgive all but flirtation with her 
cunada — confidant ; — guide your bungling feet in the dance, 
walk with you in the plaza, receive your little devotions of laces, 
gloves and flowers, and sing her sweetest low cangioncitas for 
your especial admiration. 

The regret of the townspeople was universal at our approach- 
ing departure ; and even the few who were at first opposed to the 
North Americans had become the warmest in our favor. The 
sailors had all embarked, and the marines remained to perform 
the concluding honors. On the 17th of June, in the afternoon, 
General Negrete, escorted by a number of officers and a small 
squadron of cavalry, entered the Plaza. Drums rolled, the 
soldiers presented arms, the American flag came down, the 
Mexican Eagle flew up over the Quartel, and amid the thunder- 
ing of artillery from ships and shore, bowing of officers, and 
waving of chapeaus, the ceremony ended. Arraya remained at 
the Presidio, having delegated his authority to the second in 
command. 

I mounted my horse for the last time, rode through the deserted 
garita, and around the town. Many a kind adios was said, and 
although mine were laughed in return, I felt quite sad, for I had 
made happy acquaintances and friends, amid a class of people of 
all others, the wide world over, whose society and manners I have 
ever fancied, besides being relieved of the detestable monotony of 
shipboard ; and I regard the half-year passed there as among the 
most contented of my existence, and shall ever refer with many a 
yearning to those pleasant days in Mazatlan. However, repinings 
are unavailing when a man's course in life is clearly defined, and 
he has no alternative but the almshouse on a dead lee-shore, and 
carrying a press of canvas to weather it ; or else I might have 



LAST SIGH OF THE GRINGOS. 311 

taken the law in mine own hands, and settled down comfortably 
in Mexico. 

" Ay de mi ! un ailo felice 
Parece un soplo ligero, 
Pero sin dicha, un instante. 
Es un siglo de tormento." 

Farewell Mazatlan ! adieu, ye black-eyed girls, who so detested 
the Yankees, and shed such pearly tears at their departure ! 
Adieu to fandangos, bayles, and tiny feet ! Good-bye, ye jovial, 
hospitable traders, and your ruby wine ! Alas ! — in one ead 
sigh ! — Farewell ! 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The squadron sailed, and I was ordered to embark in a fine 
old store-ship, to cross the Sea of Cortez. The lumbering craft 
went urging her lazy length through the water, her sails now and 
then giving a gentle flapping, as if to convince herself they were 
not asleep, but napping, unlike the indolent sailors beneath their 
shade. " Blessed be he who first invented sleep, for it cover eth 
a man all over like a mantle." When eyelids have fallen with 
very grief or weariness, how we may retire within a shell, to live 
a new peaceful existence, shut out from all the toils and cares 
of everyday life. 

We arrived in the broad bay of La Paz. Circling hills 
and mountains arose red, parched and arid, enclosing on three 
sides a vast sheet of water — like an inland gulf — thirty miles in 
length and fifteen wide. 

Vegetation appears to have forgotten this portion of the 
Peninsula entirely, at least to deck it in that delightful greenish 
hue that attracts the gaze when beheld from a distance — creeping 
up narrow valleys, or reposing, like an emerald carpet, on the 
sloping plains. Here Nature looks as if baked in an oven, until 
she had been thoroughly done too ! A mile from the anchorage, 
at the head of the bay, another large lake extends beyond, and 
near by is the little town of La Paz — the ancient Santa Cruz of 



LIFE IN LA PAZ. 313 

Cortez. The place has nothing to recommend it, except the fi»- 
groves and vineyards of a Portuguese, named Manuel, and a tank 
of fresh water, where one may have a morning dip, before the 
vines are irrigated. There were a score or more senoritas, who 
danced with us all night, and washed our clothes all day, and 
very well they *per formed both accomplishments, being withal 
intelligent, and, to a certain degree educated ; also two or 
three billiard-tables ; a monte bank, of course ; millions of cat- 
fish ; plenty of fleas, dust, and heat ; and about an hundred of 
Yankee Volunteers — charming fellows they were, as was remarked, 
" for a small tea-party without spoons." I think this is a correct 
summary of all the diversions and societies of La Paz, in tho 
which we soon became contented and domesticated. 

No civilized beings excepting those unkillable gentry, yclept 
salamanders, could by any chance endure the noontide heat 
on shore ; no one ever had energy to consult the mercury, but we 
presumed it was very high — say three or four hundred. We never 
left the ship until after the land wind came from the lofty heights 
to apprize us, perhaps, that we might risk a visit, without becom- 
ing sublimed in perspiration. Then the vine-clad arbors of the 
Portuguese were our favorite resort, where we killed time, devour- 
ing figs and grapes, or puffing cigarillos ; the evenings came cool 
and temperate, with never a cloud in the heavens ; the lassitude 
and languor of the sultry clay gave place to more invigorating 
influences, and we sauntered from casa to casa, wherever lights 
were twinkling. The doficellas were seated on low stools beneath 
the leafy awnings, whilst careful amas-~- house-keepers — were ply- 
ing the needle or tambour work within. 

" Kiss your hands, senoritas." " Shall we dance this even 
ing?" Con mucho gusto! cry they all in a breath. Aye! the 
14 



314 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Graces doubt them ! who ever knew a lithe young Creole to turn 
her pretty toes away from whirling waltz or contra-danza. 
" Where shall we dance ?" At Lola's, or Mariana's, or Ampara's 
— it matters not. " But the music ?" Pshaw, you gringo ! as 
if those well-fingered old harps and guitars were not ready tuned 
for the occasion, and the old night owls of musicians ever watch- 
ful, playing around the girls, like pilot fishes about the sharks. 
Vamanos pues ! The well-known faces are shortly assembled 
in a neighbor's dwelling ; the listless, indolent air of morning has 
gone — at the first tinkle of the harp, eyes are sparkling with rap < 
ture, and feet patting the floor, like prisoned birds, only awaiting 
the harmonising crash of the little orchestra to be in motion. 
Contra-danza ! shrieks the old leader. Two lines are formed — 
swinging gracefully to and fro, figures are changing, hands clasp- 
ing and thrilling, arms are twining and winding, until the different 
bands are wound into beautiful and panting groups, when the 
music pauses a moment — hands fall, and to be convinced that our 
angelic partners have not wings, each seizes his fair companion 
around the waist, and away we spin in the waltz. 

In return for the nightly lertulias on shore, we gave them a 
little ball on board the frigate — the quarter-deck was gaily dress- 
ed and bedizzened with parti-colored bunting, flags, chandeliers 
of bayonets and other nautical ornaments ; but in the absence of 
any marketable matter, the supper-table below presented more 
variegated hues than the ball room itself; being all lights, glass, fan- 
cifully carved melons and dulces. However, they had capital mu- 
sic by the German Confederation, led by Peter the Greek — danc- 
ing until midnight — the old ladies were allowed to puff cigarillos 
on the quarter-deck, and all went away apparently highly de- 
lighted. 



PIC-NIC AT LA PAZ. 315 



When becoming a little ennuied with these light pleasures, we 
made boating expeditions, and afterwards returned to them with 
renewed zest. Once on the glorious anniversary of Yankee 
Independence, we made the lease of a jolly boat. It was a 
capacious, portly and staunch receptacle of marine locomotion, 
generally used for big market baskets, beef, vegetables, and 
at times to transport drunken sailors. Our party was select 
and companionable ; the General, Luigi, Canova, Speckles, Ma- 
garrabin, Earl and myself — a tambourine and riddle, with each a 
nigger accompaniment, both combining with music a taste for cook- 
ing. We had fishing lines and fowling pieces, which last were 
voted bores and forthwith ordered to be discharged, and kept so 
during the cruise ; then there was plenty of malt and sherry, a huge 
jug of punch after the ancient Romans, a comfortable chowder 
kettle and bag of biscuits. We were up betimes, and as the first 
ruffle of the sea breeze disturbed the quiet surface of the bay, we 
pushed off from the ship. 

Here let me apostrophise ! I hate ships, I hate boats, I hate 
everything that floats ! even more than I detest poor people ; but 
at times they are all endurable, and marine misanthropic as I 
am, once in a great while I become reconciled ; but should I ever 
have a son, and should ships exist and not merge into balloons, 
and he wish to become notorious for filial piety by reading the 
book his sire wrote — and be thus imbued with that parent's ideas 
and prejudices — I beseech him never to trust his precious toes 
with only half an inch of plank betwixt them and the briny 
deep. But providing he should be so fortunate as to fall into a 
roomy bowl of a boat, like to our jolly, then after selecting the 
smoothest, shallowest of water, the gentlest of breezes, and 
flimsiest of sails, that will fly out of their bindings at the first 



316 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



puff of wind — armed with a broad sombrero, summerly jacket 
and trowsers, let him recline pleasantly on the seats, with a leg 
and arm thrown over the side, trailing in the rippling current 
— if there be the slightest suspicion of a shark, don't do it — then 
I say, let him lounge and doze as we did, as our richly freighted 
argosie calmly turned the native element from her prow, and 
proceeded majestically up the inner bay. 

We had a ten miles voyage, pausing occasionally to cast out 
the lines, temptingly baited by choice bits of meat, whereby were 
hooked great numbers of horned fishes of the feline species, com- 
monly called cats, which served to divert our leisure moments 
until the cooks pronounced the market glutted, and we accord- 
ingly drew in the hooks, and again steered lazily towards our des- 
tination. It may have been an hour past meridian when the keel 
grated softly on the strand. We had chosen a little jutting sandy 
point, where the wind made a cat's paw of us, and came fawning 
and eddying around in the coolest manner imaginable. Days are 
ever the same in La Paz — there had not been a sprinkle of rain 
for a century, so we had naught to fear but the clear bright glare 
of the sun, which poured down light and heat on the arid moun- 
tains and glassy sheet of water, from which, like a polished mirror 
of silver, it was reflected back again. 

On the little promontory. there chanced to be a stunted olive, 
and it was but a minute's labor to cut away the lower branches, 
clothe the umbrella-shaped top with a boat's sail, spread mats 
and awnings beneath, build a temporary fire-place near by, and 
then repose happily in the shade, with cigars in full blast, and 
supervise the interesting process .of cleaning fish, by the sailors, 
whilst the negro minstrels charmed us with falsetto ballads, or 
highly-complicated jigs. 



THE CABRERA; 317 



We had narratives of adventure, accounts of previous fomths 
of July, and anecdotes of distinguished naval heroes, which last, I 
am sorry to say, as a general rule, are not complimentary — a pint 

of ale and a bite of luncheon. Then after multitudes of specula- 
tions upon the merits of the embryo chowder, and many direful 
threats and disrespectful allusions to the shins and pedigree of 
our- sable cooks, in case the mess should prove a failure — gradu- 
ally one by one we fell off into siesta 

San Antonio, or that great fisherman, Sara Jones himself, only 
knows how long we remained in this happy state of insensibility, 
or how long the fishes, potatoes and chillis had been bubbling in 
the cauldron, or how often the jolly's crew had applied their lips 
to the punch jug — if I might be allowed to conjecture, possibly 
very often ; nevertheless, we were all startled by a doleful yell 
from Mr. Speckles, who at the same time expressed his opinion 
in emphatic language, that the larger portion of the infernal 
regions " had broke loose. 5 ' Appearances certainly favored the 
conviction, for within a few yards there- .ring along the 

beach a drove of bullocks, scattering the sand in clouds, besides 
having a very unpleasant expression about their horns. We im- 
mediately vacated the front seats, and rolled away into the inte- 
rior of the branch-built castle, leaving no impediment in the path 
of our enraged visitors. We emerged again as they went by, and 
in the words of the Archbishop of Granada to Gil Bias, wished 
them "alii f prosperity and a little more taste.'' The cause 

of this stampede was soon explained by the advent of a youthful 
vacuero, wl 1 to observe us. The General very dextrously 

hitched a t .and of his leather breeks, whilst 

some one else with equal skill, applied a like implement to the bit 
ringbolt of his bridle, and thus, as it were, brought him up all 



318 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



standing: Scnor quoth we, "you behold the rightful con* 
quistadores of California, the enormity of your crime, in driving 
wild beasts through a cavalier's house and furniture, renders you 
liable to fine and imprisonment, therefore we desire you to dis- 
mount," whereupon, making vigorous resistance, we assisted him 
to alight by the aid of the boat hook. 

Now, being supplied with a horse, we instantly made up a 
purse for a car r era — sweepstakes for all runners. But two com- 
petitors entered — Canova and Earl. The rest of the party held 
the bets and bottles, and constituted themselves judges. Mr. 
Earl took the nag, and Canova to his heels. The course was 
stepped fifty yards, the day being warm. They got away cleverly 
together, although the first twenty yards the former tried to 
jockey by crowding his antagonist into the water ! At the turn- 
ing-stone the cavallo was ahead, and if he could have been turned 
at that precise moment, the game would have been up ; but 
every one knows how difficult it is for one unaccustomed to the 
business to pull a horse short up at his speed, and, consequently, 
the animal went still farther ahead, and when suddenly checked, 
pitched the rider to the ears several times before he could be 
made to gather fresh way on the other tack. At this period of 
the action, Canova was making long strides, and came in winner, 
after a hotly-contested race of two minutes. Rewarding the 
vacuero with a ship's biscuit, we graciously permitted him to 
depart on his steed. 

The chowder was done to a charm — smelled and tasted 
nicely — neither over done nor underdone, nor too much chilli^nor 
too dry, nor too cold ; and not being afflicted with indigestion, 
we did full justice to the feast, and attacked the big pot unceas- 
ingly, whose capacious interior did not shrink from the encounter. 






THE FOURTH OF JULY. 319 

Still there is an end to all things, and there was, after a great 
while, to our appetites ; so we sighed deeply, and drained the 
cups to the memory of '76, and other republican sentiments of 
patriotic tendency. 

As the shades of evening began to fall, we walked into the 
water and had a delicious bath. The old jolly was then gotten 
ready, and as the last rays of the setting sun flashed behind the 
western hills, we pushed from the strand, and gave three cheers 
in commemoration of our marine pic-nic. The light land wind 
wafted our bark slowly down the bay — the large lug sail swelled 
sluggishly over the gunwale, sound asleep. The crew were doubled 
up on the thawts, sound asleep also ; and our own coterie, while 
listening to a narrative by Magarrabin, one by one dropt into 
slumber, and there was no one awake save the helmsman. I 
was comfortably esconced on the low grating, and on awaking 
the " pale night stars in millions bespangled heaven's pavilions." 
The breeze had freshened, and the water was seething and hiss- 
ing under the cut-water. " Hillo ! coxswain, where are we ? near 
the ship, eh?" " Sir," said Fagan solemnly, "we have not 
budged an inch these two hours — it 's strong flood." True 
enough we had been sailing in an aquatic treadmill, going through 
all the motions, without getting ahead. Pending these reflec- 
tions Luigi came forward, and peering through the gloom to have 
a glimpse at the surrounding scenery — for he was near-sighted — 
accidently lost his foothold, and popped overboard. I caught 
him by the toe of his boot, and assisted by the brawny arms of 
a stout Dutchlancler, who, reaching down, seized our friend Luigi 
by the head, and letting go his heels, he righted, and was 
hauled on board. 

The oars were now called to account, and without any further 



320 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



episode, sometime during the night we crept sedately up the 
frigate's side, descended to our several dormitories, and sank 
peacefully to rest. This was the way we passed the glorious anni- 
versary, thousands of leagues away from our homes and country. 

A few days afterwards, in one of the frigate's large cutters we 
departed on an excursion of longer duration, for the Pearl Fish- 
eries. We sailed late in the afternoon for the Island of San 
Jose. It stands lite a sentinel at the mouth of the great bay, 
almost forty miles from the usual anchorage of La Paz. With a 
fresh and fair wind, just as day was dawning, we rounded an 
elbow-shaped reef, and let run the little anchor, near the shore. 
At sunrise a portion of the crew were landed on the beach, and 
under the shady lee of a rocky bluff, tents were pitched, and all 
the necessary arrangements for an encampment promptly made. 

From the first discovery of the peninsula, in the sixteenth 
century, by Hernando de Grijalva, the shores of the gulf have 
been famous for their valuable pearls. Many of the inlets and 
bays were then resorted to, and continued to yield large quan- 
tities for more than two hundred years ; but from the beginning 
of the present century the trade has gradually fallen off, and at 
the breaking out of the war with the United States, there were 
but two small craft employed in the fisheries. Still there is no 
doubt that the pearl oyster abounds in immense quantities, and 
were the ground properly explored, the labor would be attended 
with profit ; but the natural indolence of the natives throws a 
wet' blanket upon everything like industry or enterprise, and as a 
consequence these submarine mines hide their beautiful treasures 
from view. 

In the harbor we visited there were a number of squalid 
Indians, farmed out by some more sagacious armador y or patron, 



PEARL FISHING. 321 



who provided them with jerked beef and paper cigars, in ex- 
change for rare shells or pearls. 

The season is chosen during the prevalence of calms and lio-ht 
winds, so that the water be not disturbed during the operations ; 
for they 

" Dare not dive 
For pearls, but when the sea's at rest." 

We had three buzos, or divers of great celebrity, but in the end 
we were not so highly impressed with their skill. 

The manner of conducting the performance is a very simple 
one. The boat is slowly urged over the calm water — perfectly 
clear and transparent it is, owing to the white sandy bottom. 
The buzos stand in succession on the prow, each provided with a 
short sharp stick to dislodge the shells, whilst another with 
shaded eyes close to the surface, peers down- into the pure blue 
depths, and marks the object of their search, or warns them of 
the appearance of the tint ere — a ravenous species of shark. 
Mir a ! says the look-out man, pointing with his stick. Splash ! 
down plunges the swarthy figure. You see him squirming and 
groping on the bottom, reflected in the mirage-like fluid, when 
presently he shoots to the surface, in one hand holding the prize, 
which is tossed into the boat. Hay mas ! — there's more ! — he ex- 
claims, takes a long respiration, and again sinks — this time reversing 
his heels, after getting under water. Two or three feats of the 
kind, and he gives place to a fresh buzo. The depth ranged from 
twenty to thirty-five feet, and they remained below about a minute. 

One would naturally suppose that the oldest oysters, like heads 
of families, out of the sea would adorn themselves with the cost- 
liest jewels, but the system is quite the reverse. The venerable 
14* 



222 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



shells are contented with little, valueless seeds, and the princely 
peas of pearls are distributed among the juveniles. This is inva- 
riably the case, and the rarest gems are always found in the 
smallest and youngest oysters ; nor are they worn, as with mor- 
tals, in the ears, for we ever discovered them, after much scrutiny, 
carefully secreted in their beards ! 

After shelling and fishing until the sea breeze agitated the 
inlet, and put an end to the morning's sport, we disembarked, 
and did full justice to the excellent fare of one Senor Eloi, who 
had kindly attended the party in capacity of major domo, keeping 
a watchful eye, moreover, on vicious persons inclined to filch an 
over allowance of grapes, or unconsciously to swallow an entire 
bottle of porter, which, by the way, is an unpardonable crime 
on aquatic recreations like the present. 

Towards evening, refreshed by siesta and bath, we shouldered 
rifles for the chase. I returned very soon, satisfied with stump- 
ing along the beach, where were strewn hundreds of thousands 
of polypii, or squids, with large black eyes like human beings, 
their putrefying jelly-like carcasses filling the air with a hor- 
rible stench ; after a sweltering tramp over the dry, parched 
ravines and hills of the island, which were thickly covered with 
scrub cactus, having thorns nearly as long as bayonets, and very 
much sharper, as I found to the damage of my legs and trousers. 
I saw nothing within range of a bullet, and was altogether toler- 
ably disgusted, and glad to get once more within shelter of the 
tents. - My companions were more fortunate — they started num- 
bers of deer — were far more fatigued from their tramp, and returned 
quite as empty handed. 

Game is said to be very abundant on the Peninsula, but I can 
hardly believe the nature of the country admits of it. We had 



GAxAlE IN LOWER CALIFORNIA. 323 



venison occasionally, of indifferent quality, flavored with the 
flowers and shoots of the aloes, upon which the deer can 
only find nourishment. On the opposite shores of the Gulf, in 
the Tierra Caliente, between San Bias and Mazatlan, I occasion- 
ally saw a few deer, stray coveys of quails, chichilacas, wild ducks 
and turkeys ; but even on the upper terraces of the interior, I 
met with only a large species of hares ; and I am confident the 
whole country can bear no comparison to the worst regions for 
game in Upper California. 

My friend, Don Guillermo, in Mazatlan, who was a great 
hunter, told me a curious fact relating to the Coyote, who, on 
spying a wild turkey on the lofty branch of a tree — after a wary 
approach — fixes his eye upon the bird, and commences a revolving 
promenade, never for an instant removing his fascinating gaze 
from the devoted prey. The poor turkey, anxious to observe the 
perambulations of his friend below, follows him with eye and 
neck, until becoming too dizzy to maintain the perch, when down 
he falls into the cunning wolf's clutches ! 

We made a hearty supper, and then sat down to an old 
fashioned rubber of whist — the bets were glasses of toddy. 
u Steward," shouts Monsieur Borodino, who had won a stake, 
and nearly drank half of it, " Steward, it's too strong!" Si 
Se/ior, said the attentive domestic, and forthwith gave it a dash 
from a dark-colored liquid, which was not water. " Ah ! Eloi," 
murmurs, sotto voce, another young gentleman in delicate health, 
H Have my flask filled, eh ? Want it for stimulant, in case we 
should fall short !" This caused a pronunciamento, and being 
somewhat fatigued with our day's work, we made a smoke to 
drive away mosquitoes, rolled ourselves up in blankets, and sought 
repose on the yielding sand. 



324 CHAPTER XXXVII. 



The following morning we were early astir — diving, fishing, 
and hunting. Being unsuccessful, however, after breakfast it was 
decided to leave our haven in San Jose, and try the fortune else- 
where. 

At noon the tents were again metamorphosed into sails, and 
away we steered,, in an easterly direction, across the broad strait 
which opens into the bay. The first hours of the voyage were 
fair and tranquil, but with the declining sun the wind arose from 
the gulf and began blowing with great violence. The straining 
canvas was reefed down, and curtailed of its fair proportions, and 
by the assistance of the buzos? eyes we were piloted into a narrow, 
alcove-like nook, of the Island of San Antonio. Then the dimity 
was all furled, and with the ashen sails we strove might and 
main to get beneath the high cliffs of the little port. Dios ! how 
furiously the gusts came sweeping down the steep gorge, brushing 
the stout oars like feathers alongside the boat ; then a renewed 
struggle, only to be blown from the course, and the water torn 
into foam, and dashed over us. We began to despair of getting 
on shore, although the strand was nearly within arm's length, for 
the gale blew with such unremitting violence as to defy our efforts. 
However, thanks to San Antonio, there came a transient lull, and 
the pilots were enabled to fasten a strong cable to the rocks. 
It was somewhere in this bay where the great Cortes became 
tossed about in his crazy bark — perchance it may have been 
the haven we had sought — and in gratitude for our escape, 
we voted a candle to the Virgin. 

We found ourselves shut up in a slender canal, walled by pre- 
cipitous masses of granitic rocks, hundreds of feet above us, and 
the channel terminated by fifty yards of smooth, pebbly beach. 
The fires were soon blazing merrily, and after a hasty supper, we 



AN ORIGINAL CASTLE. 325 



stretched ourselves on the clean sand, and in sleep, forgot our 
escape from boatwreck. 

The morning came bright and cheerful, with not enough wind 
to roughen the quiet surface of the little haven. We were 
amused paddling among caverns and grottos of the cliffs for an 
hour, and then once more stepping on board the cutter, we soon 
lost sight of our harbor of refuge. 

Coasting along the island we passed a number of these narrow 
indentations, protected like spaces between one's fingers. At one 
of them we threw out a grapnell, and the divers collected 
upwards of an hundred pearl oysters within the hour ; beyond we 
selected a cool retreat, beneath overhanging ledges of rock, where 
we proposed dining. Our position was exceedingly novel and 
curious. The finger-like promontory lifted its crest perpen- 
dicularly from the bay ; the base of the cliff was composed of a 
thick and variegated strata of black pudding-stone, worn into 
lateral curves and arches, upon which rested the great body of 
the cliff, which appeared formed of reel sand-stone, having one 
side scooped and scolloped into profiles upon profiles — hideous 
caricatures and contortions, letters and numerals, while on 
the face, looking towards the inlet, and immediately over our 
dining-hall, was cut a well-defined gallery, leading from turret to 
turret, the whole closed by a most artificial-looking tower and 
battlement ! We had to gaze a long while, before convinced that 
the elements themselves had been the sole architects. 

The same evening we sailed over to the mainland, took another 
night bivouac on the sandy shore, arose with the sun, beat 
through the Harbor of Pichilingue, and in the afternoon reached 
our floating home in the frigate. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

Long before the arrival of the squadron in La Paz, the natives 
of Lower California had been awaiting with the extrernest solici- 
tude the negociations prior to the final ratification of peace. The 
treaty arrived — their anxiety and doubts were soon over. They 
learned with amazement, that notwithstanding the positive assur- 
ances held out by the United States Government, that " the flag 
of the United States would for ever wave, and be unalterably 
planted over the Calif ornias," and that under no possible con- 
tingency could the U. S. ever give up or abandon the possession 
of the Calif ornias, as conveyed through the official proclamations 
of the Naval Commanders on the coast, they had been duped, 
with these texts for their support — to defend our citizens and 
to fight under our colors, at the loss of standing, property, 
and life itself, and afterwards were to be taught a commentary 
upon the good faith of our Government. In the Treaty of 
Peace, Lower California was not alluded to, nor even protection 
of the Peninsula glanced at. Thus they reaped the fruits of 
their too easy credulity, and were about to pay the penalty in 
again becoming shuffled off to Mexican authority, and suffer the 
endless private and political persecutions attending their .apostacy 
from the parent stock. 

It was assuredly a hard case — for our Government had been 



WE LEAVE MEXICO. 327 

solely to blame Instead of leaving the Peninsula in a state of 
neutrality, as it was, in effect, so far removed from the mother 
country as to be thought unworthy of notice, we feusied ourselves 
fomenting disturbances and planting military posts until the 
major part of the respectable inhabitants of the territory became 
compromised, by espousing our quarrel. 

All were eager to leave for the upper territory, but an entire 
emigration was out of the question. Many of the poorer classes, 
with numerous families, could not forsake their land, or little 
property, without any certain means for future subsistence ; but 
those who could leave were quickly preparing to avail themselves 
of the opportunities afforded by our ships of war and transports 
for a new and distant home. 

We remained nearly a month at La Paz. The only incidents 
worth noticing had been the trivial affair of a volunteer on shore 
very coolly shooting his wife to death ; and a piece of Sam 
Patchism of one of the ship's boys, who, while climbing up the 
fore royal-mast head, and within grasp of the truck, became 
exhausted and fell, pitching heels over head through the air, 
tossing from brace to brace, until he finally struck the awning, 
bounded up, and fell again motionless — the stout canvas of the 
main deck awning having saved him. I was an eye witness to this 
performance ; the next day he was again on his feet, mischievous 
as ever ; but a plunge of near two hundred feet, without serious 
injury, would not be generally credited. 

One morning, the boatswains whistled, the cables rattled, ship 
unmoored, sails spread ; and as we slowly took the direction of 
the sea, and left the " Ohio" astern, down came, for the third 
time, our red pennant and up went the blue. We had bid adieu 



328 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



to Commodores, squadrons, and signals, and were henceforth to 
cruize in a little fleet of our own. 

We were beund on a flying visit to Mazatlan, and, after a 
tedious passage, on the fifth day, Creston reared his castor above 
the sea, and the white town and red mountains of the interior 
became again visible. The hills and plains were looking fresh 
and green from recent rains, but the town was nearly deserted, 
and not a vestige of life or bustle was to be seen. 

Negrete with his oflicials were no sooner warm in their nests, 
when one Palacios collected a number of discontented followers, 
entered the city, occupied the Cuartel, and summarily ejected 
Anaya's friends. They declared a more liberal policy than the 
government party, abolished the alcobola, reduced duties, and 
agitated a measure of forming Cinaloa as part of a Republic, in 
conjunction with the States of Jalisco and Sonora. These fragile 
schemes did not meet the sanction of the reflecting portion of 
the community, and the foreign merchants were particularly dis- 
gusted, fearing, as usual during these pronunciamentos, some 
forcible extortion from the Palacios, upon refusing to advance 
money. 

Anaya himself, with a small force, and means insufficient to 
put down the opposing faction, occupied the Presidio. Our old 
friends welcomed us kindly, and many believed we had returned 
to re-occupy the town ; and even though the different consuls and 
foreign residents tried their utmost to detain us, it was unavailing, 
and the day succeeding our arrival the canvas overshadowed the 
frigate, and we said adieu, for the last time, to Mazatlan. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

For twenty days after sailing from the Mexican coast, the 
steady trade-wind drove the frigate merrily over the blue water ^ 
until one evening we found ourselves, with wings furled and 
anchors down, within shelter of the reefs and hills of the Bay of 
Hilo. 

Near us nestled an enchanting little village, with straw huts 
and cottages, half hidden beneath a perfect forest of flowers, 
banana, bread fruit, and coffee trees, with here and there thick 
clusters of cocoanuts shooting high in the air, like petals from 
the brilliant parterres at their feet, waving rattling leaves and 
trunks in a very indolent and graceful style peculiarly their own. 
Then the deep, velvety verdure around gradually rose in green 
slopes, and receded far away in the distance, until the scene was 
closed by the " twin giants of the Pacific," Mauna Kea and 
Mauna Loa. Nearer, along the fertile shores were white rills 
leaping into the sea, groups of natives upon the beach, and the 
little bay alive with slender and reed-like canoes, skimming like 
a breath over the water, the broad paddles flashing in the sun, 
tempting tropical fruits, reposing dewily in leafy baskets, the 
natives themselves gesticulating and chattering with amazing volu- 
bility, which added to the bright, fresh, novel, and glorious 



330 CHAPTER XXXIX. 



scenery of the island, made a pleasing contrast to the parched 
Sierras and Tierra Caliente of Mexico. 

The day subsequent to our arrival chanced to be Sunday, and, 
soon after breakfast, we pulled on shore. There was no reason 
for disappointment in a closer view of the village. The richest 
and densest tropical foliage shaded, and almost impeded the path- 
ways. Native huts, with bleached thatching, and pretty cottages 
of the missionaries, were peeping from amid the groves. Streams 
of pure water were murmuring in every direction, and the cool 
trade-wind was blowing breezily through the branches of the 
trees. Altogether, the effect was quite exhilarating. 

Large numbers of copper-hued natives, dressed in their gayest 
colors, were waiting to receive us, and, stepping on shore, I 
resigned myself with great docility to the guidance of a stout 
person, who, tapping an embroidered crown on the sleeve of his 
coat, with a short baton, informed me, with an expressive nod, 
that he was kaiko — king's man — in other words, a guardian of the 
peace. 

A few minutes' walk brought us to an immense thatched build- 
ing, which was the native church. On entering, we were politely 
shown places, and I was fortunate in getting a seat immediately 
fronting the preacher, and facing the congregation. There were, 
at the lowest, a thousand present, ranged on plain wooden benches, 
all over the vast earth floor of the meeting-house, and crowds more 
were pouring in from the different doorways : ancient matrons, in 
dazzling calico frocks, cut very high in the neck, and very low at 
the heels, unconfmed by belt or bodice, wearing coal-scuttle 
bonnets — sometimes two — toppling very much in front — giving 
a general idea of having been put on wrong end foremost : young 
damsels attired in gaily-colored shawls and ribbons, their nether 



HILO IN BYRON'S BAY 331 



limbs encased in a superabundance of hose^and strong brogan 
shoes : venerable, gentlemanly kanakas^ in tightly-fitting trousers, 
unconscionably short-waisted coats, with swallow-tails : others again 
saved from appearing in purls naturalibis by the aid of a tappa, or 
flimsy shirt, about the loins. But they were a sober, orderly 
congregation, and with the exception of a little restlessness amid 
the juveniles, all listened with marked attention to the discourse 
of their pastor. 

The Reverend Mr. Cohen preached to them, and seemed to 
adapt the sermon to their comprehension ; occasionally, how- 
ever, interrupted by some elderly person, when any obscure pas- 
sage was not rendered sufficiently clear, whereupon an expla- 
nation always followed, in the most urbane, kindly manner. 

The dialect is exquisitely soft and vowelly ; and then the fre- 
quent repetition of many words, from the want of copiousness, ren- 
ders it susceptible of being delivered with the most inconceivable 
rapidity. We had singing at intervals during service by some 
fifty youths from the Reverend Mr. Lyman's school. I judged it 
rather discordant, and although the voices were not harsh, nor 
unmusical, there was yet neither taste nor harmony in their 
efforts. After church, we visited the comfortable, pleasant resi- 
dences of the missionaries — they were surrounded by well-culti- 
vated gardens of taro, vegetables, and fruits. The inmates we 
found pious, sensible, and excellent persons, who had devoted 
many years among their heathen neighbors in philanthropic diffu- 
sions of the Gospel. 

We had but a day or two to ramble about the village before an 
expedition was planned to visit the volcano of Kilauea. We 
were indebted to the good offices of Mr. Pitman for making all 
preparations for the journey. Each was provided with a kanaka 



332 CHAPTER XXXIX. 



as a sort of body-servant to take charge of extra luggage and 
wardrobe, stowed in two huge calabashes, with the half of other 
shells laid over the round orifices on top, which effectually shielded 
their contents from the weather : they were then slung by a net 
work of bark braid to each end of a short pole, like a pah' of 
scales, over the swarthy shoulders of our valets. There were 
full half-a-dozen more fitted with the like contrivances filled with 
edibles. All were sent off at daylight, while we remained to a 
delightful breakfast of fresh water fatted mullets, new eggs, and 
butter. Horses were then brought forward, and attended by a 
guide, we moved in direction of the south end of the island. In 
an hour we had lost sight of the ocean, left the pretty, " dim o'er 
arching groves" of Hilo, and struck a narrow pathway over smooth 
undulating masses of vitreous lava, just as it lay cooled from the 
lips of some remote boiling crater, whose overlapping iron waves 
had flowed from the regions above, whilst the rankest ferns and 
vegetation blocked the route, creeping and extending as far as 
the eye could span up the gradual slopes of the mountains. It 
was certainly a dull, uninteresting landscape. We pushed our way 
through these green fibrous barriers, with nothing to diversify the 
monotony, save the course through a dismal forest of ragged 
trees, laced and covered with impenetrable thickets of vines and 
parasitical plants, only relieved by the pale green of the candle 
nut and mighty leaves of an occasional banana tree ; meeting, 
perhaps, at every dreary league with a filthy, ill-constructed 
native hut, filled with yet filthier occupants. From nearly every 
habitation we had a volunteer or two in our train, so that, 
in the afternoon, when we reached what is called the half-way 
house, there were enough followers for an Indian army. 

Our halting place was a well-built thatched dwelling, planted 



ROUTE TO KILAUEA. 333 



on a little mound of lava, and fenced in by a living hedge of ti^ 
whose bare stems rose four feet from the ground, and then 
branched out in spreading leaves, like plumes. Inside the build- 
ing was a raised platform, running the entire length of the room, 
resembling the pleasant structures used as beds by soldiers in 
guard-rooms. Clean mats and pillows were strewn upon it, and 
the remaining space of the apartment was plentifully provided with 
tables, chairs, and crockery ; the whole being especially tabooed^ 
and guarded by a native chief for the accommodation of tourists. 
It was situated in the midst of a little hamlet of huts, and on 
leaving the precincts of our domicile, to take a general survey of 
the country, we found ourselves stormed, as it were, by troops of 
tawny kanakas, and loosely-attired wyheenees — young ladies, — 
who had called to have a chat with the houri-man-a-wars. They 
were quite sociable, squatted beside us on lava ridges, laughed and 
chatted, took the cigars from our teeth, blew a whiff themselves, 
passed them around the circle, returning them again to the 
original puffers, which being interspersed with pokes and pinches, 
they made themselves very friendly and at home. Our staid 
chaplain, too, became well-nigh captivated, before they were 
made to comprehend that he was a mikonaree / then these dusky 
nymphs became mute as mice, and very demure in his presence. 

The rain came on presently, and we sought shelter, took a 
nap, and at sunset sat down to dinner. Apart from sundry 
palatable dishes prepared by our own major-domo, there was a 
luau turkey, after the Sandwich mode of cooking, which, as I wit- 
nessed, I shall here take the liberty of describing the process. 

It was a large gobbler, who, upon being knocked down by a billet 
of wood, was stripped of his plumes, cleaned, dressed, and stuffed 
with a green, cabbage-looking vegetable, called luau; then care- 



334 CHAPTER XXXIX. 



fully swathed like a mummy in damp banana leaves, he was laid 
on a native oven of red-hot stones, all covered thickly over with 
more leaves, until there was not a chink or cranny for the escape 
of heat or steam. How long he remained undergoing this ope- 
ration I do not exactly remember, but on sitting down to table, 
he was ushered in, on a huge platter, in his green winding-sheets, 
and after removing the outer coatings, he presented a whitish, 
parboiled appearance, half-drowned in a pulpy mass of lucm, and 
fell to pieces at the first touch : he was steamed to death. I 
experimented on him, and truthfully declare he had not a taste 
of the turkey flavor, and we thought it the worst possible use he 
could have been put to ; albeit the vegetable was delicious, and 
made amends for the tasteless gobbler. 

Early the next morning we arose, breakfasted and mounted ; 
the route was over the same swelling hillocks and mounds of lava, 
the view bounded far and near by the same dense growth of ferns, 
and a dull, unbroken solitude reigned around — uninterrupted by 
chirping of birds, or even the wheetling of lizards or crickets. 
Slowly we ambled along — the weather was lowering and gloomy ; 
there was not a trickling rill of water, nothing but dull sky above, 
and lava, always lava below ! 

My horse, too, was a monster of his species — never shall I 
forget that brute ; had he been provided with a cocoanut column 
on each leg, by way of stilts, he could not have come down 
harder — ugh ! at every other step on coming to some narrow 
crevice of the rocks, he would raise his fore hoofs, and let himself 
fall, at it were, with a jar that made my jaws rattle like cracking 
walnuts with my teeth ; it makes me shudder even at this late 
day to think of it. I tried to coax him into a gallop with lash, 
spur and pen-knife, that he might break his neck, and gratify my 



THE VOLCANO. 335 



revenge ! but no ! it was his maiden visit to the crater, and so 
far as a letter of future recommendation, he was resolved never 
to go again. 

We journeyed on during seven tedious hours — the great dome- 
like mountain of Manna Loa appearing even to recede as we ap- 
proached — its smooth, oval base and sides sloping so easily from 
the frosted summit as to induce the belief of the practicability of 
a coach and horses going up, without let or hindrance. Almost 
imperceptibly we had attained an elevation of four thousand 
feet, when we came upon a broad plain, extending nearly twenty 
miles to the base and flanks of Mauna Loa. Shortly after, a few 
light wreaths of steam were blown from the rocky crevices around, 
and in a moment we stood on the brink of Kilauea ! 

u For certain on the brink 
I found me of the lamentable vale 
The dread abyss that joins a thundrous sound." 

We were on the rim of a mighty, depressed circus, walled about 
without a break, by precipitous masses of brown and reddish ba- 
saltic rocks, and looking down hundreds of feet, aye, more than a 
thousand ! we beheld with a bird's-eye glance, a vast frozen black 
lake, once a huge sea of fire — now a congealed surface of lava, 
where you may place Paris, reserve a nook for New York, and 
not be pushed for space either ! 

After infinite toil and peril, we clambered down the steep face 
of the wall by a broken pathway, and with some misgivings, 
planted our feet on the crunched, crowded and broken slabs of 
lava, with the ashes cricHing beneath the* tread, very like crisp 
snow, and all closely resembling a frozen estuary, where the tide 
had fallen and left the ice very much shattered and uneven. Yet 
there was no danger — walk miles and miles in every direction — 



336 CHAPTER XXXIX. 



take care you don't step into those unfathomable cracks and 
splits, for the longest and strongest arm ever moulded could not 
save you from this the pit of Pluto ! 

Three miles from the point of descent, near the opposite shore 
of the gulf, is still another large and deep crater, which prpbably 
plays the safety-valve to the whole island. It is generally in a 
state of great bubble and contention, but now was quiet, and only 
favored us occasionally with a few uneasy sputterings, as if the 
vestal devil below wished to have it understood, that he had not 
entirely gone out or shut up the shop, but was more busily occu- 
pied poking the fires of Hecla or Stromboli. 

My companions were hunting over the broken slabs of vitreous 
lava for bits of specimens, of a sort of glassy fibre, called Pele's 
hair, after the heathenish superintendent of the realms : I was 
seated on a frowning black ledge, near unto what resembled a 
long range of four story granite warehouses, the day following a 
conflagration — resting my wearied limbs and determining men- 
tally in which direction I should run to escape, in case the black, 
frothy cauldron should happen to boil over, or how I should feel 
boiling in it ; when my reverie was disturbed by a Caliban of the 
calibashes, the color of a burnt brick, who was capering around in 
a pair of primitive pattens, formed of rushes bound to his feet, 
as if the lava was warmer and sharper than agreeable : pointing 
with his chin to the mouth of the breathing crater, ara?nai } said 
he, — come here — beckoning me to approach nearer, to make an 
impression with a dollar in the molten mass, at the risk of my 
coins and singed fingers. u Aramai yourself, with that kettle of 
cold water," quoth I, quaffing a sip to his infernal majesty's 
health and spirits. " I didn't come all the way here to see sim- 
mering lava, and get my nose and toes scorched for the trouble ; 



THE CIIATER. 337 



believe nie, fiery Pluto ! those pleasurable sensations I've enjoyed 
many a time and oft, years ago ; but could you give us a down- 
right good ague with an earthquake, by way of a novelty, I should 
consider my education completed, and make no further call upon 
your generosity." Notwithstanding my invocation, the mountain 
remained firm and apathetic, and becoming heartily disgusted, 
I forthwith turned my back on Kilauea. 

Our guide on this volcanic excursion rejoiced in the epithet of 
Barnes, and I beg leave to endorse him for any other tourist. 
Mr. B., in our ignorance, assured us that gentlemen ever in- 
dulged in strong waters before descending, after inspecting the 
crater, " sweetening the very edge of doom," as it were, and also 
upon mounting upward ; suggesting that the guide was treated in 
like manner, and as an invariable rule, all ullages were confided 
to his care. Mr. B. also gratified us with many remarkable nar- 
ratives concerning the native population. 

We had a dreadfully fatiguing ascent to the upper regions, 

somewhat alleviated by the kind services of the calibash men, 

who butted us up the most difficult steeps with their heads, when, 

after gasping an hour from exhaustion, our appetites returned 

with renewed vigor, and we made another meal on luau turkeys. 

We were, moreover, comfortably housed, and fortunately, for 

towards nightfall, the wind arose from the great Mauna Loa and 

drove the light chilling rain in loud gusts and moanings over the 

plain. During the night we heard the muttering throes of the 

volcano, and at intervals in the darkness, a bright sheet of fire 

would leap up from the black abyss, so intensely vivid as to paint 

a brilliant flame-bow in the thick mist that crept along the crater's 

sides. There was a perfume of sulphur and nitre, that seemed 

to spring from the very floor of our habitation, but far too fagged 
15 



338 CHAPTER XXXIX. 



out to heed it, we were soon wrapt in forgetfulness, or what was 
better, good warm cloaks and serapas. 

The day broke cold and stormy, so we huddled on flannel shirts, 
and paid a hasty visit to some enormous sulphur banks that were 
steaming actively near the verge of the crater. Beautifully col- 
ored crystals were profusely found on the fissures of wide steam 
cracks and yawning chasms ; then there were fearful dark holes., 
like chimneys, as indeed they were, evolving strong puffs of sul- 
phur, that kept flurrying and eddying around, and when a whiff 
chanced to take one in the nose or mouth, it quite gave a choking 
taste of Uncle Nicholas's abode. 

We regarded the whole affair as a special providence intended 
for the Hawaiians, who are all, more or less — men, women and 
children — afflicted with the itch, and if they could only be in- 
duced to give the steam a fair trial, there could be no skepticism 
upon the beneficial results that would ensue. 

This was all there was to be seen or wondered at — returning to 
the straw hut, we ate more luau turkeys — sent kanakas and 
calibashcs ahead, and then got on the beasts once more on our 
return route. We shortly bid adieu to the drizzling rain hanging 
above Kilauea, for a clearer atmosphere. The same night we 
had more turkeys and more sleep at the half-way house, and the 
following evening reached Hilo. 



CHAPTER XL. 

During the fortnight of our stay in the bay of Hilo, we had 
opportunities of observing a fair sample of island life. It is a 
place less visited than others of the Hawaiian group, and as a con- 
sequence, the natives have lost nothing from a less constant asso- 
ciation with more civilized nations. 

They still preserve, in a certain degree, old habits and hea- 
thenish customs, though very much modified by the benevolent 
efforts of their missionary pastors ; yet there are many deeply rooted 
and immoral practices, which the good teachers find a Hercu- 
lean labor to eradicate. Nevertheless, it must strike a stranger 
with surprise to find all these demi-barbarians have been taught 
to read and write — exceedingly well too — indeed the clean, well- 
defined caligraphy of the Hilo nymphs will compare with that 
of the most fashionable style of the art in young ladies' semina- 
ries at home — they pay a strict outward observance to the Sab- 
bath, have a general knowledge of the Scriptures, and many of 
the youth, a tolerable share of education. 

The huts in the vicinity of towns and settlements are more com- 
fortable and habitable than in the days of Cook and Vancouver, 
partaking somewhat in build, to the steep angular Dutch roof, but 
constructed of poles and thatch, without windows, and with only 
a single entrance. Great quantities of clean, well-made mats are 
piled about the floors, which are couches for eating or sleeping ; 



340 CHAPTER XL. 



the bedstead is not used, and since a deal of rain falls upon the 
windward side of the island, the health of the population is seri- 
ously affected by the dampness of the ground . 

The natives are amiable, good-natured, indolent beings, and 
approach nearer to the toujours gai than any people in existence. 
But let no one, judging from their simplicity of manners, be so 
verdant as to suppose he can win their hearts or produce with 
glass beads, jack-knives, or any other species of baubles ! Per- 
adventure he will discover they have as correct an appreciation 
of silver, and can drive as sharp a bargain, as ever the Jew out 
of Jerusalem. Still they were obliging, and would attend us all 
day in our tramps and excursions, apparently well satisfied with a 
trifling present of stumps of cigars. 

One great detriment to health is removed, in the article of 
spirits. Like all the Indian races, they are extravagantly fond 
of it but in Hawaii there is not a drop to be had, and in the 
other islands of the cluster, a heavy penalty is rigidly inflicted 
for disposing of it to a native. 

Among their favorite dishes is that of raw fish, and as a great 
rarity a luau dog ! Under the most solemn pledges of secrecy, I 
was permitted to witness the exhuming of one of these animals, 
with the privilege of making a meal, in case he was found to be 
palatable. These solecisms on modern cookery and viands are 
severely frowned upon by the missionaries ; and with much cau- 
tion, we were taken to a small hut, back of the village, and when 
a venerable kanaka had been placed on guard in a cane brake, to 
prevent surprise from Kaikos, we entered the tenement. A huge 
calibash was placed on the ground, filled with the national prepa- 
tion of poee-poee. It was a white mixture, made of smashed and 
fermented taro, of the consistency of a stiff paste, and it is nofc 



CANINE DISH. 341 



considered the mode to eat it with aught else but fingers— one, 
two, three, or the whole hand, according to its liquidity. The 
Hawaiians beat the Neapolitan lazzaroni in dextrous use of their 
digits and digestions ! whereas the latter beggars can only suck 
down several continuous leagues of maccaroni without a bite, and 
be satisfied, the native will make a cone of hand and fingers, 
and with the whirling velocity of a water-spout, he takes up 
enough of the plaster of Paris like liquid to make a thorough cast 
of mouth and jaws, with the energy to repeat the impression every 
minute ! Where it all goes to is a mystery, It has been sug- 
gested that they are hollow, like bamboos, down to their heels ; but 
it is a mooted point. I tasted this poee-poee, by way of an appe- 
tizer — found it not unlike sour starch, and felt no further inclina- 
tion to make a hearty meal. By this time stones and leaves 
were taken from a sunken oven in the corner of the hut, and 
lo ! the barker was exposed to view ! The warning of Cave 
Canenij which I had seen in former years at Pompeii, never 
struck me forcibly until now ! I had heard, too, a metaphor 
about " the hair of a dog being good for a bite," but the moment 
I beheld the entire animal, with his white jaws and tongue lolling 
out, I felt no inclination for even a bite— lost my appetite, and 
came quickly away, with the intention of turning informer, and 
sending the Kaikos in among the party. 

The manner of fattening these interesting and delicate animals 
is not dissimilar to the process of cramming turkeys with walnuts. 
They are a peculiar kind — short-legged and domestic. The feeder 
takes a mouthful of poee-poee and raw fish ; after masticating it 
to a proper consistency and shape, he seizes his victim by the 
throat, chokes the jaws wide open, then drops the contents of his 
own mouth into that of the brute. We were told that it is only 



342 CHAPTER XL, 



necessary to use this violence with puppies, on becoming older 
and docile they take to the food more kindly. 

Among other novel sights, I saw with calm pleasure the native 
boys climb cocoanut-trees, by tying the big toes together by a 
wythe of bark, then aided by hands and knees they run up the 
tall, waving columns. Down come bounding the nuts ; a small 
dusky imp at your elbow whisks off the husks with his teeth ! 
cracks a hole in the skull — up ! up ! gurgle ! gurgle ! — and down 
your throat glides the cooling and delicious draught. Pine-apples, 
too ! — large, perfumed, luscious fellows ! — thirty for sixpence, and 
considered exorbitantly dear at that price ! Then there is the 
spreading bread-fruit, with the greenest of dark green leaves ; 
but my juvenile impressions of the fruit I discovered were 
entirely erroneous ; for instead of being like bakers' loaves, or 
even French rolls, they were different as possible ; the fruit being 
enveloped in a coarse, thick rind, tinged with yellow, with white 
meat, about twice the bulk of pippins ; and when properly roasted 
has the taste of an insipid potato. 

I have been perfectly sheltered, too, in a pelting, pitiless 
shower, by an extempore umbrella, constructed of two big banana 
leaves ; and sipped water from native cups, made in a trice from 
a goblet-shaped leaf snatched at the road side ; and on a certain 
occasion, when wearied by a long walk, I threw myself beneath 
the heavy shade of a fan-leafed pandanmus, and submitted to the 
loammi-loammi. It is a more delicate operation than the Turkish 
mode of shampooing, and when the operators are laughing native 
girls the sensations are far pleasanter. 

They commence a running succession of pinches from heels to 
shoulders, accompanied by kneadings, and pokings with the tips of 
their fingers ; then selecting a clear space, they begin a diapason 



WATER-NYMPHS OF HILO. 343 

of light thumps and blows, interspersed by a gentle trip-hammer 
movement with outer edges of the hands ; now slow, now fast, 
faster — like flashes of light — until the cadence dies languidly 
away, in soft, melodious tappings, leaving the patient in a quiet 
frame of mind, and the body very much refreshed. 

The high chiefs, who are all immensely corpulent, and said to 
be rather given to overfeeding themselves, use the loammi- 
loammi to make them comfortable after repletion, so that they 
may go on again, without personal inconvenience — always keeping 
a number of expert practitioners in their trains. 

All classes at Hilo evince an enthusiastic admiration for flowers, 
and the maidens particularly are never without natural wreaths, 
or necklaces of woodbine and jessamine, prettily woven for the 
occasion. There is a yellow bud of the candle-nut, which is not 
so pleasant to eye or nose, though more generally worn. But in 
all the tastes and diversions of the natives, there was not one that 
charmed us so much, and in which the natives indulged with 
such wild delight, as bathing in the river Wailuku. 

Along the whole eastern face of the island of Hawaii there are 
numberless rills and streams that come bounding from the lofty 
sides of the giant mountains, in cataracts and cascades, until at 
last they jump from the green-clad shores into the salt foam of 
the ocean. One of the largest of them is the Wailuku. No 
farther than a league from the harbor inland is a miniature 
Niagara, of more than a hundred feet, which dashes a mass of 
broken water into a bowl-like basin, flashing upon either side 
brilliant rainbows, from which the fall takes its name. Retracing 
our steps towards the village, the banks of the little river become 
brupt, and within a few hundred yards of the bay the water 
[5 diverted into a multitude of channels — here, a torrent boiling 



344 CHAPTER XL. 



over scattered rocks, with a clear, sleeping pool beyond — there, 
the white cataract plunging swiftly through narrow straits, and 
leaping gaily down below, like a liquid portcullis to some massive 
gateway — again, whirling eddies playing around rocky islets, until 
at last by one sparkling effort the waters re-unite, and go roaring 
and struggling down a steep chasm into the noisy surf of the bay. 

It is here the young of both sexes pass most of their time. 
Troops of boys and girls, and even little ones scarcely able to 
walk, are seen in all directions, perched on broad shelving crags 
and grassy mounds, or, still higher up, clinging from the steep 
sides and peeping out from amid the foliage. On every side they 
come leaping joyously into the rushing waters ! There on a bluff — ■ 
thirty, forty — ay ! seventy feet high — a score of native maidens 
are following each other in quick succession into the limpid pools 
beneath. The moment before their flight through the air they are 
poised upon the rocky pedestals, like the Medicean Venus. One 
buoyant bound — the right arm is Ihrown aloft, knees brought up, 
and at the instant of striking the water the head falls back, feet 
dashed straight out — when they enter the pools with the velocity 
and clearness of a javelin, shooting far away, just beneath the 
surface, like a salmon. 

Others, again, are diving in foaming torrents — plashing and 
skirling — laughing, always laughing — plunging — swimming, half- 
revealing their pretty forms before sinking again beneath the 
stream. Others, still more daring and expert, go whirling through 
narrow passages, thrown from side to side in the white waters — 
now completely hidden in the cataracts — anon rising up in a 
recumbent attitude, when away they are hurled over a cataract 
of twenty feet, emerging far below, with long tresses streaming 



THE Vr r AILUKU. 345 



behind, and with graceful limbs cleaving the river, like naught 
else in nature more charming than themselves. 

It is a sight to make a lover forget his mistress, or a parson his 
prayers I know it would have been my case, had I been so 
fortunate as to be either ! Here I passed all my leisure hours, 
never tired of beholding the beautiful panorama of life and water 
moving before me ; and there were others, on these occasions, 
who were wont to mingle bravely in the sport — portly post- 
captains— husbandly lieutenants — mad-cap reefers, of course — 
staid chaplains, too ! — but all declared it was pleasant, exceeding- 
pleasant! although mingled with a few indifferent remarks as to 
what the good missionaries might think of it. 

Many of the wyheenees have pretty faces, expressive black 
eyes, and long, jet-black hair ; then there are others, who make 
good imitations of Blenheim spaniels in the visage ; but nearly all 
have rounded, voluptuous forms, perfectly natural and beautiful 
when young, with small hands and feet : but such larks they are 
for fun and laughter ! with a certain air of sly demureness that 
renders them quite bewitching. 

In the cool of the afternoons, a number of us in company with 
half a dozen of these attractive naiads, would amuse ourselves 
sliding over a gentle water-fall that poured into a secluded basin 
stretching calmly away below : hand in hand — and very soft, 
pretty hands they were ! — or, forming a long link, one after an- 
other, in a sitting posture, we threw ourselves upon the mercy of 
the lively foam above, and like lightning dashed over the brink 
of the falls, and were drawn with magical celerity for a great 
depth beneath the surface ; until our ears tingled and senses reeled 
with the rushing noise, when we would again be swept swiftly by 
a counter-current up to the air of heaven, and carefully stranded 
15* 



346 CHAPTER XL. 



on a sand bank near by, wondering very much how we got there, 
and always greeted by the gay laughter of the water nymphs 
around us. Nor is it the safest sport imaginable, for in some of 
these submarine excursions an inexperienced person is sometimes 
given to beat his head or body against rocks, or be carried to the 
wrong eddies and floated among dangerous straits, to the great 
detriment of his breath and digestion. However, no one need 
entertain the slightest fears when attended by the natives. They 
may, when saving you in the last gasp of drowning, hold you up 
in the combing breakers, and ask, " how much? tree monee ?" 
with a prospective glance at a reward. But when diverting your- 
self with these nut-brown naiads, they guide you in safety through 
perilous labyrinths, and shield you from all harm. On one occa- 
sion, a laughing, good-humored damsel, whom we christened the 
Three-decker, in compliment to a double row of ports tatooed 
around her waist, was seated beside me on a flat ledge, and opened 
the conversation by asking, u Watee namee you ?" " Bill," said I. 
" Liee namee Harree," she archly replied, and shoved me into the 
torrent for laughing at her curiosity. But on gaining my lost 
position, she broached another theme, which was so appallingly 
ludicrous, that, losing all command of soul and body, I rolled off 
the rocks, and had it not been for the stout arms of a nimble 
wyheenee, who gallantly came to the rescue, I should in all proba- 
bility, as the Three-decker jocosely remarked, have been muckee 
moi — defunct ; for the water had so nearly filled me up, that 
there was not the faintest vestige of -a laugh left in my body. I 
rewarded her with a plug of tobacco, which is occasionally used 
as a currency. 

We experienced much rain during our sojourn, and when pre- 
pared to leave, were detained some days by the wind. The 



MAUN A KEA AND MAUN A LOA. 347 



harbor is protected by a sweeping sunken reef, that forms a cwl de 
sac of the port, with an entrance like the neck of a bottle. On 
the 28th of August, by the assistance of our pilot, Mr. Kit Baker, 
who played corkscrew on the occasion, we were safely drawn out — 
shook the wet canvas from the yards, and away we coasted along 
the island. 

It was a beautiful sight, indeed ! The smooth, green freshness 
of the slopes — the distant village, with its groves and- fields of 
coffee and sugar — native huts and plantations fast coming and 
going, as we went sailing by — white cascades — and intensity of 
verdure everywhere — spread like a glowing mantle from the 
mighty shoulders of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa — made me doubt 
if, in all our future " Polynesian researches," we should behold 
any scenery so surpassingly lovely as Owyhee, with sweet little 
Hilo, and its foaming Wailuku. 



CHAPTER XLI. 

Before dusk the green shores had faded from our sight, 
although the snow-capped head of Mauna Kea arose as plainly 
and proudly as if we were within a mile of his feet. 

Sometime during the night we entered the Paipolo Passage, 
and the next morning were becalmed, in a triangular sea, between 
the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. We were bound to the 
former ; towards meridian the breeze again filled the sails, and in 
a few hours we were at anchor in the Roads of Laihaina, 
securely sheltered by the high hills of the island. 

The general appearance of this group is not unlike clusters of 
the Grecian Archipelago : the same reddish hues to the heights, 
the same basking verdure in the valleys, with perhaps a far 
grander outline and boldness of scenery. In Maui there is no 
comparison to the universal greenness and fertility of the east 
side of Hawaii. The lofty mountains, attaining an altitude of 
ten thousand feet, arrest the trade clouds in their westward 
flight, and the contents are condensed on the opposite side of the 
island. Yet, although the background shows for a great extent 
barren and sterile, there is still much to relieve the eye in the 
deep green reposing between the sharp split gorges, where vege- 
tation creeps in thick profusion to the topmost peaks. And then 
the town itself — larger than Hilo — built along the sea-shore, 



MAUI AND LAIHAINA. 349 



radiant with noble groves of eocoanut, and bread-fruit, and 
pretty houses half buried in shrubbery. There is also a great 
red-roofed New England meeting-house — a two-storied square 
stone edifice, which is the King's country palace, having a double 
range of verandas in front, and a little lake of black mud in the 
rear, not in the best possible state of order or cleanliness, but 
more conspicuous than all, placed a league up the hills, is 
the large white buildings of the the native High School of 
Lahainaluna. 

Maui is becoming a great resort for whale-ships to recruit from 
their long cruisings ; it has been the means of infusing energy and 
industry into the native population in the cultivation of the rich 
soil, and thus for miles around the town the lands are planted 
with Irish and sweet potatoes, taro, yams, and many kinds of 
excellent vegetables and grains, which grow all seasons, whenever 
sown. The markets were well supplied besides with meats and 
fruits ; and nothing can exceed the clean, tasteful manner in which 
the lighter produce of the island is put up in native baskets. 
With the fresh leaf of the eocoanut they are woven or braided 
in a trice — oval, round or square, — with a pliable green handle all 
ready for transportation. The eocoanut is to these simple 
islanders what prayers are to the Tufks — meat, drink, and panta- 
loons ; or rather, as I have been told by others professing a 
deeper knowledge of the Mahommedan lingo than myself, when 
listening to the Muezzins shouting their signals from minarets of 
mosques However, here is better authority : — 

" The Indian's nut alone, 
Is clothing, meat and trencher drink and can, 
Boat, cable, sail, and needle — all in one." 

They catch fish, too, with nets, and lash their huts together by 



350 CHArTEK ALL 



braid of the husk. Their couches are mats of the leaves. The 
milk makes a delicious beverage, and is kept coal, no matter how 
burning the sun, in the lofty husky reservoirs. The tree itself 
never ceases bearing while there is a drop of sap in the body, and 
I have counted more than a hundred of these nutty tanks on a 
single shaft. If I remember aright, when a boy I was extrava- 
gantly fond of a penny's worth of the fruit fished out of glass jars. 
I never touch it now, for experience has taught me to confine 
myself to the milk alone. Indeed, I know of no thin potation 
more truly refreshing before breakfast, than a cooling draught of 
cocoanut wai. The nut must be neither in its infancy, nor yet 
matured, but just on the verge of manhood ; then commend me 
to it, and they will be rosy lips to draw one from its mouth. 

We found everything more advanced than at Hilo — the bread- 
fruit particularly— but not only in the vegetable kingdom — for 
civilization was far ahead, also ; or at least so far as creature 
comforts extend — aided by a good hotel, dinners, and pleasant 
rides in the vicinity. 

The lanes and avenues were so clouded with fine red dust, 
that walking any distance was out of the question. Foreigners have 
many cool, matted-straw-built dwellings on the sea beach, and 
there are numbers of pleasant cottages near the suburbs ; but 
prettier than all, is one secluded country house, a little way from 
Lahaina, closely embowered in foliage, with a trickling rivulet at 
the door-way, that would make a retreat for a princess. 

The Governor of Maui was James Young, a half-breed, or 
kappa, hourly and descended from the English seaman mentioned 
by Vancouver. He had visited England, and spoke the language 
perfectly, although with the tone and expression of a common sailor 
In person he was large — with a pleasant face — much lighter than 



GOVERNOR YOUNG 351 



the natives generally, and from his conversation he appeared to 
be a man of excellent practical sense. His residence was within 
the fort — a large square enclosure — constructed of rough red coral 
rocks, banked up fifteen feet with earth, and mounting an oddly 
assorted battery of some thirty pieces of artillery, of all sorts of 
carriages and calibre — long, short, and mediums ; they command 
the usual anchorage, and no doubt do very well to prevent any 
acts of violence from merchant ships ; but it is a question, if at 
the second discharge of shot they do not tumble to pieces. There 
were a company of Hawaiian troops to man this fortress, who were 
well uniformed, and looked as well as Kanakas, or any other 
savages who have been accustomed half their lives to go naked 
can look, when their natural ease of motion is cramped by Euro- 
pean clothing. 

Governor Young very sagaciously removed all restrictions from 
the pleasures of our crew, who had liberty on shore — leaving it a 
matter of supererogation to bribe the Kaikos, whose integrity is 
never above suspicion. However, there was no liquor to be 
bought, but Jack got very comfortably drunk on Cologne water : 
completely exhausting the large stocks of a long-tailed Chinaman, 
in whose possession it had for a lengthened period lain an unsale- 
able drug;. Even after it had been all sold, so great was the 
demand, that an old salt threatened to take the Chinese by the 
heels and snap him like a coach -whip, in case he did not produce 
another bottle of "tooloone" water, without more palaver. 

One evening, during our visit at Lahaina, I was entertained by 
a hospitable countryman, at his cool, airy residence, which stood 
on a little raised embankment of the sea beach. A group of 
native maidens also favored us with their fascinating society, and 
without further invitation seated themselves at table, and seizing 



352 CHAPTER XLI. 



a pack of cards, soon became deeply engaged in the game. It 
was like most other games : those who held certain cards, certainly 
won ; but although it was to me incomprehensible, I observed 
that they cheated in the most expert manner, at the same time 
slapping the bits of pasteboard on the table with the energy of 
inveterate whisters ; occasionally muttering, when losing or win- 
ning, such exclamations as ka! ha! — maitai! — meaning " Oh ! 
I'm ruined! 55 " Disgusting ! 55 or a I 5 m in luck! 55 and the like. 

Becoming ennuied with these proceedings, after much entreaty 
and a glass of wine, they consented to give me an idea of surf- 
swimming. 

The moon was high and full, throwing a white, bright light 
athwart the rippling water, iike a quivering sea of silver coins. 
A Kanaka attendant speedily produced slabs of light cotton wood, 
about a foot longer than the person, and two feet and a half wide. 
Each provided with one of these boards, they swam, or paddled 
out to the farthest roller. It may be as well to remark here, 
that there is no reef, as at Hilo, within whose coral walls shipping 
can anchor ; only a ledge near the shore, that serves to break the 
force of the waves upon the beach. Boats, however, land without 
inconvenience, through the agency of a small canal cut from the 
ledge to the heart of the town, in shape of a letter L. 

The girls are at the outermost roller, when awaiting the moment 
before it breaks, they come flying in on the very crest of the 
wave, at the speed of a race-horse, the great art being to preserve 
so nice a poise on the back-bone, as it were, of the breaker, as 
not to be left behind, nor yet, as I found at the cost of several 
abrasions, launched too far ahead, and thus have the whole crash 
of the roller pitching you over and over in a series of hydropathic 
revolutions by no means safe or pleasant : but to understand the 



SURF SWIMMING. 353 

thing properly, it is excessively exciting sport. One of the girls, 
daughter of a chief, possessed the knack in great perfection, and 
while dashing in with astonishing velocity — at least the rate of 
twenty miles the hour — she would spring buoyantly upon the 
board, and then maintain a pose on one leg, either kneeling or 
standing, with an a plomb-like security of balance, that would 
have ruined the reputation of Ducrow ! 

During the day every little idle imp and lounger about the 
town devote the time sporting in the surf; I have watched 
them for hours, a dozen of them perhaps in a group : their 
black heads set in a liquid frame of sparkling foam, half lost to 
view, as the wave subsides, then taken up by another, and borne 
on the unbroken ridge of a green roller, crossing and recrossing 
each other's tracks, shouting and laughing, nntil the moment 
before striking the coral strand, the boards are turned aside, and 
off they paddle again for another ride. 

I was not successful at the first lesson, although carefully 
instructed by my amiable companions in boards ; and after an 
hour's practice, finding I had swallowed as much salt water as I 
could conveniently, we returned to the house. 

Never having witnessed a legitimate native dance, all our per- 
suasive eloquence was exerted to induce the young ladies to 
delight us with a hevar, but they proved obdurate ; and one 
assured me, with great indignity, that she was mikonaree all ovar ; 
at the same time making a graceful manipulation with her hands, 
from head to foot, to add strength to her assertion. Thus finding 
myself associated with so pious and virtuous a coterie, who, how- 
ever, did not deem it incompatible with their morality to sit down, 
with renewed zest, to cards, I desisted from further efforts, and 
betook myself to a cigar. 



354 CHAPTER XLI. 



In this, as with all my later experience and intercourse with 
island beauties, I became convinced that I should never fall in 
love with them out of the water. There is their native element 
for grace and witchery, whilst cleaving the yielding fluid with 
rounded limbs and streaming tresses, when one's nice sense of 
perfume is not offended by rank odors of cocoanut oils, and 
other villanous cosmetics, which in themselves are enough to 
transform a Hebe into a Hecate. 



CHAPTER XLII. 

The large native seminary at Lahainaluna, upon which the 
Missions place great hopes of future usefulness, was under the 
superintendence of Messrs. Andrews and Alexander, gentlemen 
attached to the Presbyterian board, who impressed us very forcibly 
with their intelligence, by the liberal views they entertained in 
relation to their charge, and fitness for the office. 

It is intended as the high school for the sons of chiefs of the 
group, and such other youth whose aptness for instruction make 
them worthy of being educated. The buildings belonging to the 
institution are capable of accommodating more than one hundred 
pupils. Six hours are devoted to study and recitation : they 
cook their own food, and a portion of time intended for relaxation 
is occupied in practical utility — chiefly agricultural pursuits, or 
as the mission report of the young ladies' school under Miss 
Ogden, at the east end of Maui, states, " the time from four to 
five they devote to exercise with the hoe." 

About eighty of the pupils visited the frigate, by special invi- 
tation — they appeared between the ages of twelve and twenty — 
attired in curiously devised European garments, but clean in their 
apparel, orderly and well-behaved, although awkward and uncouth 
in movements. I was not struck with many intelligent faces, and 
their instructors gave no very flattering ideas of their aptitude for 



256 CHAPTER XLII. 



the acquisition of learning. Not more than one in twenty could be 
termed a bright boy ; they experience the greatest difficulty in 
gaining a knowledge of the English language, and it is a question 
if it would not be advisable, even at this late day, to do away 
entirely with the native dialect, pen up the children, and substi- 
tute some other idiom having fewer words to express vice, and 
more, the higher attributes of morality and virtue. 

Physically speaking, the students were well formed, robust, and 
active, but all more or less tinged with scurfy, cutaneous dis- 
orders, transmitted to them through their progenitors as an indelible 
mark of esteem by the first discoverers of the islands. Our visi- 
tors remained on board an hour, and everything was done to 
make it a happy one : they climbed the rigging, went all through 
the ship, fired cannons shotted, and were loud in their admiration 
of the band. Upon leaving, they seemed highly delighted, kindly 
greeted us with the usual expression of good-will — aloha ! — and 
very generally offered to shake hands, but we pleasantly declined, 
I trust without wounding their feelings, for we were ungloved, 
and a long way from the sulphur banks of Kilauea. 

Institutions for female scholars are numerous in the group, but 
there is not one on the same scale of magnitude as that of Lahai- 
naluna, nor are the girls themselves worthy of the benevolence 
and solicitude extended to them by their excellent teachers. A 
school at Hil'o, under the direction of a missionary lady, highly 
distinguished for ability and perseverance, had lately been relin- 
quished on account of the abandoned character of the pupils. 

These instances must indeed dampen the ardor of the most 
sanguine philanthropists, who have been so many years striving 
to emancipate these Indian races from the depths of vice and 
ignorance. The whites themselves, to their shame, be it said, 



THE NATIVES. . 357 



are far from lessening the evil, and I heard Mr. Cohen feelingly 
and truthfully remark, in connection with the difficulties encoun- 
tered in their labors, that the missionaries' voices were but a 
breath in stemming the torrent of bad examples, caused by hun- 
dreds of loud voices from every merchant vessel and ship-of-war 
touching at the group. Assuredly much has been accomplished 
in the outer crust of civilization, by an association for so long 
a period with the whites, but notwithstanding the almost unpar- 
alleled efforts of the missions, they have gained little in true 
morality, though everything, perhaps, in decency, contrasted with 
the native state in former times. 

The Hawaiians are naturally indolent, voluptuous and deceitful, 
more imbecile than vicious, destitute of morality, preserving of 
late years, the form, not from principle, but fear of exposure, and 
subsequent punishment. Infanticide, always prevalent in the 
Polynesian tribes, is here more alarmingly frequent than even 
during their darkest days of sacrifice and idolatry, caused, no 
doubt, in a great degree, by unnecessarily severe laws against 
illegitimacy. There are no government hospitals, and the disease 
brought by Cook is sweeping still, with the deadly strides of a pes- 
tilence. These causes serve to check and diminish the popu- 
lation to an extent hitherto unprecedented, and not unless their 
very existence as a nation becomes obliterated, does there appear to 
be any reasonable prospect of reform.* And now, it can be asked, 
if, with all these evils entailed upon them by strangers, does it 
not seem problematical, if in their days of superstition and igno- 
rance they were not morally better ? Happier they certainly 
were ! Then, their very indolence, induced by an equable and 

* Vide Report to the Hawaiian Legislature of 1848, by 11. C. "Wyllie, Minister of 
Foreign Relations. 



358 CHAPTER XLII. 



delicious climate , where Nature so bountifully scatters her fruits 
in their path, produced an enervating languor, where neither 
cares nor sorrows surrounded them ! Now, their natural sense 
and experience teach, that they cannot cope with the skill or 
energy of the foreigner, and hopelessly and inevitably they must 
look forward to the rapid future, when their lands will be in 
strange hands, and the few remnants of their race the slaves or 
puppets of their white masters. Although sad the picture, the 
results bear no comparison to the world at large, in the benefits 
accruing to civilization by acquiring a foothold on these islands, 
which, from their position and resources, are shortly destined to 
become of vast importance to commercial enterprise in the 
Pacific. 

The Board of Presbyterian Missions, first in the grand work 
of redemption, have done all that philanthropy could suggest, in 
earnest and unceasing efforts towards reclaiming the race from 
barbarism — in a spirit of the greatest liberality, expending nearly 
a million of dollars, distributed through a period of thirty years — 
wherein, if naught else had been adduced than the beneficial 
results resting upon the simple fact, that out of a population of 
about a hundred thousand, which compose the Hawaiian cluster, 
more than half have been taught to read and write, instructed in 
the rudiments of education, and generally conversant with the 
Scriptures — this is of itself sufiicient to claim the lasting gratitude 
of all who have the progress of civilization at heart. But what 
is still more surprising, this has been begun and completed within 
the space of but thirty years — a point of time inconceivably brief 
in the history of a nation, even in the age of rapid advancement 
in which we live. 

The groundwork of Christianity has also been firmly planted, 



MORAL CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. 359 



and so long as the Hawaiians do exist, it will go on slowly but 
steadily to increase. Yet the reports from the Board, detailing 
such immense numbers of conversions made so miraculously of 
iate years, under missionary auspices, should be received cum 
grano salis. Surely they cannot be intended purposely to mis- 
lead — but still it has the semblance of a sort of paid-up imaginary 
capital, to swell and exaggerate the amount of their labors. On 
all sides it was universally believed, that there are not five hun- 
dred true converts in the group, instead of over thirty thousand, 
as these reports would make out ! Then why these incorrect 
statements ? And again, a retired missionary quoting the 
Honorable J. P. Judd, another gentleman formerly attached to 
the Board and now at the head of the Hawaiian government, says : 
" The moral condition of the Islands may compare favorably with 
that of any other country. " # Such glaring mendacity is beneath 
the contempt of any visitor to the group blessed with eyes ; and 
as a slight proof of the estimate, at this late day, in which this 
morality is held, the missionaries themselves, who have young 
families, never permit them to acquire the native dialect, and 
most carefully guard them from any intercourse with the natives, 
fearing probably the contaminating influences of an association, 
so deplorably exhibited in the children of the English Mission in 
one of the groups of Southern Polynesia. 

Furthermore, the violent ravings of the retired missionary 
I have already quoted, against what he terms " papacy, prelacy, 
papists, abomination of the Church of Rome," and the like bal- 
derdash, are enough to induce the belief, that were it not for the 
great conservative Law and Order party, which now rules the 

* Bingham, page 609. 



360 CHAPTER XLIL 



world — wherein the virtues of hemp are duly set forth — these 
deluded enthusiasts, so blinded by their fanatical zeal, would be 
cutting one another's throats, with the same malignant ferocity 
as in the bitter wars of the Huguenots. 

The missionaries fully deserve all the love and influence they 
possess with the native population, for the toil and labor of very 
many weary years, passed away from homes and kindred ; and so 
long as they sedulously abstain from secular affairs, and resolutely 
confine themselves to the field of their good work, the very piety 
and blameless purity of their lives will shield them from the 
smallest reproach. But human passions are ever the same. This 
very influence induces them to take part in the political conten- 
tions of the government ; and whatever may be said to the con- 
trary, it is evidently by their direct means, or connivance, that 
almost every public measure emanates. Nor is this the most 
innocent charge laid at their doors. Behold the illiberality and 
want of true Christian charity, evinced not only here, but with 
equal hostility by English missionaries in the Society Islands, in 
unremitting persecutions and expulsion of the Catholics. Whether 
directly urged by the Protestants, or at their instigation through 
the native chiefs, matters not — they were driven like dogs from 
these inhospitable shores, and never dared to return until backed 
by the cannon of their King. 

It may well be doubted, if the Catholics had been the first 
to have raised the banner of the Cross on the Islands of Polynesia, 
whether they would quietly have sub mitted to any foreign inno- 
vations upon their creed or forms. History gives no instances 
where an acquisition has been relinquished without a deadly 
struggle ; but in these days of enlightenment, when the field is so 
ample, why not throw wide open the gate to all laborers in the 



THE CATHOLICS. 361 



cause of philanthropy, where no harm can arise, and great good 
may follow ? 

The Catholics lead as pure and irreproachable lives as their 
Protestant brethren — without perhaps the comforts — and are 
rapidly making proselytes; their religion teaching forgiveness 
and absolution, being more in accordance with the backsliding 
sins of the natives, who meet with no appeal from the more aus- 
tere puritanism of the Protestants. 



16 



CHAPTER XLIII. 

After a delightful visit spent at Lahaina, late one afternoon, 
we bade adieu to Maui, and steering between Lanai and Molokai, 
by daylight the following morning we had passed Diamond Point, 
and let run our anchor at a great depth of water, a- mile or more 
outside the Oahu reef 5 the frigate's draught being too large to allow 
her to enter within the smooth and well-protected arms of the port. 

We were in Honolulu — the Ismir of Polynesia — a little thriv- 
ing city of nearly eight thousand people, and its situation one of 
the prettiest in the world. It lies spread about at the base of 
the beautiful valley of Nuaana, upon a very gentle slope down to 
the verge of the harbor. On either hand the shores are fringed 
with cocoanuts, and all around, up hill and vale, save the burnt 
sides of the Devil's Punch-bowl and Point Diamond, is laid the 
deepest, densest verdure, as if it had been actually poured down 
from the heights above, in liquid floods of foliage, until there was 
not a spot on the leafy waves where another green branch could 
find a lurking place ! 

Honolulu is a town of strangers, with shops, stores, and ware- 
houses ; handsome dwellings with verandas and piazzas ; pleasantly 
shaded cottages of elegant modern build, with grass and flowers ; 
and nice little straw huts, in clusters by themselves, for bache- 
lors, all very cool ; then the unpaved streets are filled with dust, 



HONOLULU. 363 



and natives wander about, in bright-colored, loosely-fitting gar- 
ments, looking forlorn, diseased, and miserable, living, no one 
cares bow or wbere ; sleeping in tbe most loathsome abodes of 
wretchedness, and vilest dens of vice ; in all save absolute want 
or destitution, far below, in the moral scale, the worst hovels of 
iniquity in the great cities of the Old World ! But we have no 
time to waste upon morals. Presently a low four-wheeled 
vehicle rattles along — there are many of them — drawn by Kanaka 
cab-horses ; very kind and humanizing it is too, for the beasts are 
tame, never kick, not given to prove restive, or run away, at 
least with the coach ! I often speculated mentally if the fair 
women when taking an airing ever blushed for their cattle ; and 
when I saw a pious missionary lady trotting gaily by, I wondered 
if she had ever seen or read a " High-heeled Shoe^or a Limping 
Sinner" — most probably not. And then within those charming 
cottages I spoke of, there are lovely women from far, far over 
the seas — oh, beautiful was one ! — who make music and dancing, 
and most agreeable society, and hand around delicious tea fresh 
from the Celestials, and piquant lemonade — eschewing vinous 
compounds — while the sweet perfume of the lime-trees is present 
to eye and sense, and all pleasantly commingled with innocent 
sips of scandal. 

Again the quays are crowded with more miserable natives, 
with sprigs of coral, shells, calibashes, or island ornaments in 
their hands, looking wistfully, and silently towards you ; for they 
never use importunities, they are too indolent by half. And there 
is a market shed near by, where a fat woman will swallow a full 
gallon of jpoee-jyoee^ to show how the thing is done, provided it be paid 
for ! And then, as a relief from these diseased beings, there is the 
white reef seaward, vainly chafing and lashing the coral barrier ; 



364 CHAPTER XLIII. 



and the calm harbor, clustering with fine ships, chiefly of the 
oleaginous order, while whale-boats, and graceful Koawood 
canoes — with light frameworks of sticks, and outriggers to bear 
them upright — are dancing over the blue wavelets. 

There are agreable rides in every direction diverging from the 
city. The most fashionable is up the Nuana Valley. *The road 
is broad and straight, lined on either side by well-tilled planta- 
tions of fruits, and patches of vegetables, with elegant country- 
houses, placed back from the causeway, half visible through the 
rich and sombre foliage. 

Five minutes' gallop takes you, by an easy ascent, away from 
the heat and dust of town. The atmosphere is purer and cooler, 
the blue sea, shipping, reef, town, groves and fields, are lying in 
miniature at vpu feet ! Go on — pass the King's villa — up, up, 
for six or seven miles, and suddenly the trade wind sweeps with 
heavy gusts, around a sharp turn of the craggy verdant peaks, 
and you stand on a lofty terrace, and gaze through a great 
balconied window, cut like an embrasure, and formed by piles 
of rocks at the sides and base, while below is a frightful preci- 
pice, and beyond a glorious undulating landscape is breathing in 
verdure and beauty, dotted here and there by native hamlets, 
whose bleached white thatching is glistening in the sun, with herds 
of cattle upon the hill sides, chequered by bright patches under 
cultivation ; while further still, the island is girdled about by high 
waves, breaking upon the rock-bound coast with the full force of 
the trades. 

This is the Pali y concerning which, among other heathenish 
legends, which have neither romance nor chivalric merit to 
recommend them, it is said that a certain island king once hurled 
from thence a number of his rebellious subjects. 



LIFE IN HONOLULU. 365 



Returning, we can take a glance at scores of poor squalid wretches, 
with closely-shaven heads, living in filthy kennels that a decent 
dog would despise ; but they have been guilty of breaking one of 
the commandments, and to reform their morals are herded 
together, and made to labor upon the public roads ! 

Saturday is the Saturnalia of the Kanakas ! They revel on 
horseback ; the streets, roads and plains are filled with them. It 
it is surprising where they all spring from ; for although they are 
an ambulating population, without local attachments, and go in 
schooner-loads from island to island of the group, particularly 
upon the advent of a large ship of war, and no doubt are packed 
very closely in their hovels in and around Honolulu, yet it still 
is a matter for wonderment where all come from. Hundreds 
of both sexes throng the pathways ; and those more fortunate, 
who can hire horses, are riding, and racing, leaping, and kicking 
up all the noise and dust possible. The women bestride their 
steeds like men, with petticoats tucked snugly around them, and 
sometimes wearing for head gear as many as three bonnets of 
different colors, one within the other, like nests of pill boxes. The 
young princes of the blood, too, attended by the copper-colored 
nobility of the kingdom, ride with headlong speed, and are not 
remarkable for taking less than three-fourths of the highway, to 
the great peril and inconvenience of more soberly-mounted pas- 
sengers. On one pleasant evening an aristocratic sprig rode 
rudely against an Anglo-Saxon demoiselle, in whose train I had 
the pleasure of being, and without pausing to apologise for his 
brutality, continued on, causing me to indulge in certain pious 
aspirations for my Mexican whip that I might inflict a few mild 
exhortations, in spite of his long line of Kanaka ancestry. 

Neither men nor women sit the horse gracefully or firmly, 



366 CHAPTER XLIII. 



and it is a matter of hourly occurrence to see them take an aerial 
toss from the saddle. A certain kind of equestrian intoxication 
— possibly caused by brandy — appears to possess them, and they 
gallop and prance about as long as the beasts have a leg to 
stand on. 

It is customary for strangers visiting Honolulu, in the absence 
of requisite hotel accommodation, to hire a small tenement 
expressly appropriated for that purpose ; many of them are 
pleasant little domiciles, built of straw, and kept by their pro- 
prietors tolerably clean, free from fleas, and habitable. They 
are in clusters by themselves, and surrounded by adobie walls, 
enclosing a few trees, and shrubbery, and generally take their 
designation from the last ship of war whose officers may have 
occupied them. 

The Alsatia we affected was named in compliment to an 
English flag-ship — Collingwood row I Our hamlet was tabooed, 
and none others than those especially licensed, were permitted to 
darken those sanctuaries. 

We arose early for a bathe on the coral flats or shoals of the 
reef, then took gallop before breakfast ; and when the trade began 
its diurnal breeze, and the streets were impassible from dust, we 
reclined within our thatched castles, enjoying the cooling gusts 
blowing down the Nuana, or were seated with segars beneath the 
shelving eaves, regarding the natives grouped near the door- 
ways! They were mostly girls — poor, miserable shameless 
objects, with diseased, unhealthy complexions, lounging all day in 
the glaring sun, or clustered, two and three together, sucking 
poee-poee, smoking pipes, and chatting their soft idiom, low and 
laughingly ; but they had not the grace, nor coy witchery of the 



SOCIETY IN HONOLULU. 367 



charming rustics of Hilo : they were city ladies — in Honolulu, 
where there is more population, more want, and far more vice ! 

Before the sun sinks for the day, there is but little wind, and 
walking or riding is then a pleasureable excitement. There is a 
circle of agreeable society, too ; not alone with foreign merchants 
and consuls, but with a higher order of diplomatic agents, who, 
although severed from their homes by thousands of leagues of 
water, still surround themselves with all the elegancies and enjoy- 
ments of social existence which they have known in their native 
lands. Indeed Oahu, though without the salubrious, agreeable 
climate of Maui, is still a place of much interest ; and from its 
delightful position, and fine scenery, well worthy of all the com- 
mendation that voyagers bestow upon it. 



CHAPTER XLIV. 

King Kammehamma, or Kamme, as lie is familiarly called, is 
the third of his race : his ancestors were fierce, ungovernable 
gentlemen, who, in the good old times, clubbed and killed — per- 
haps ate, too — nobody knows — a great number of their enemies ; 
but without tracing the historic truth of these remote events, it is 
only necessary to state, that his present majesty has been invested 
with the purple, and is, to all formal appearances, the chief poten- 
tate of the islands. 

The government is a complicated piece of political machinery, 
with a constitution, and masses of subtle laws, equal in magnitude 
to the huge proportions of a Chinese dictionary. There is a 
Legislative Assembly of Kanakas, Ministers of State, War, Finance, 
Solicitors-general, an army, a navy, and a court ! This is not 
half, but it makes one dizzy to think of it all at once : however, 
on due reflection, it is not quite so complicated an affair after all ! 
The government is simplified by two bosom friends of the King — 
Mr. Robert Crichton Wyllie, Minister of foreign relations ; and 
Mr. G. P. Judd, Minister of finance. The former is a very 
clever Scotch gentleman, somewhat inflated with the royal trust 
reposed in him, and has, moreover, the cathoethes scribendi to a 
most melancholy and voluminous extent ; yet he is an agreeable 
person, and gives good dinners, and I have not the heart to say a 



PRESENTATION AT COURT. 369 



syllable to his disparagement, although I have not had the feli- 
city of testing his cuisine ! 

But Mr. Judd is the Magnus Apollo of the Island. Kamme, 
or the Lonely One — as the word signifies — Is his puppet, and 
most particularly lonely he keeps him ! The King is Punch, and 
Judd is Judy, and the Lonely One is jumped about and thumped, 
and the wires are pulled unremittingly. Judd is his prime counsel- 
lor, his parliament, father confessor and ghostly adviser — his tem- 
perance lecturer, purse-bearer, and factotum generally. There 
was a rumor, too, in courtly circles, that an order of nobility was 
to be established, and then we shall have, probably, Baron Judd, 
Peer of the Realm and Regent of the Kingdom. One would 
naturally suppose that a staunch democrat from the Model Re- 
public could not bear the tainted air of a monarchical court in 
his republican nostrils. But it is wonderful how soon we learn to 
estimate patriotism at so much per annum, and with what sup- 
pleness we can kneel before a throne, if there be dollars hidden 
beneath the dais. What boots it whether the chair be filled with 
African or white ? We want dollars ! 

The king was universally liked by the foreigneis ; for he has, 
indeed, for a modernized savage, much bonhommie ; is a good- 
hearted, well-meaning person ; rather given to conviviality, like 
all his race, and when permitted to throw off the restraints of the 
court, he " allows his more austere faculties to become pleasingly 
relaxed by a little gentle and innocent indulgence." However, 
these backslidings are of rare occurrence, and when under the 
argus eyes of his financial adviser, he is never seen to exceed the 
limits of propriety — eschews ten-pins and tobacco — sips malt, and 
devotes his leisure to billiards. 

We were to be presented at court ! It occupied a number of 
16* 



370 CHAPTER XLIV. 



days to arrange certain punctilio, and finally, without any decided 
misunderstanding, an hour was fixed for a royal audience. 

One day, precisely as the clock tolled twelve, we sallied out 
into the dusty streets — chapeau'd, sworded, belted, and laced up 
to the chin. The weather was warm, too. A few minutes walk, 
guided by our obliging cicerone, Mr. Wyllie, carried us to the 
Palace. 

It is a large, square-built villa, spaciously piazzaed and win- 
dowed, surrounded by pretty plantations of shrubbery and fruit- 
trees. At the gateway a guard of Kanaka infantry presented 
arms, the royal standard was unfurled from the flag-staff and 
floated to the breeze. Passing up a broad, gravelled alley, we 
ascended a flight of steps to the piazza, and were again saluted by 
a double line of ofiicers, who were supposed to be the black rods 
in waiting. Entering the villa, we found ourselves in a wide hall 
r traversing the centre of the building, with saloons to the right 
and left. The King not having arrived, we had leisure to 
inspect the reception room. It was a spacious apartment, with 
windows on three sides, having green Venetian blinds opening to 
the piazzas, and two doors leading to the hall. It was hand- 
somely carpeted, and tin furniture consisted of a few plain ma- 
hogany chairs, with another of state, surmounted by a crown. A 
round table stood in the centre, supporting alabaster ornaments, 
volumes of Wilkes' Exploring Expedition, and a richly-bound 
Bible in the native dialect, presented by that estimable philan- 
thropist, Elizabeth Fry. The walls were hung with portraits of 
the Lonely One's family — dingy chiefs and their ladies, smiling 
intensely, with round saucer eyes and thick lips — a painting of 
Blucher — two of the Kings of Prussia — and facing the throne, in 
a gorgeously gilt and carved frame, the King of the French ; 



APPROACH OF ROYALTY. 371 



which two last, by a singular coincidence, had lately been pre- 
sented in great state and procession by the respective cjnsuls, on 
the very days their several majesties had been dethroned'. 

Time was only allowed us to take a rapid glance arourd the 
saloon, when the approach of majesty was announced, and we 
hurried back to the hall. 

From the opposite side of the terrace appeared the regal 
cortege — brilliant in embroidery, .gold lace, nodding plumes, and 
swords at their sides : on they came, two abreast — foremost, the 
King with the Minister of Finance— 4hen a brace of Chamber- 
lains, followed by the High Chiefs and officers of state, and the 
procession closed by the two young princes, Alexander and Lot. 

In a few moments, his excellency the Minister of Foreign Re- 
lations imparted the august intelligence of all being prepared for 
our reception. Forming in line — the Admiral leading, under 
pilotage of Mr. Wyllie — we entered the saloon, and approached 
the throne. The King was standing, and the courtiers ranged on 
either side. Our Admiral backed his topsails and let go an anchor 
on the Lonely One's port beam : we were then telegraphed by 
name — shot ahead — hove to abreast His Majesty — exchanged 
signals — filled away and took position by order of sailing on the 
starboard bow ! 

His excellency the Minister of Finance — who, by the way, was 
not an ill-looking nobleman — in full court costume, and a field- 
marshal's chapeau tucked under his arm — announced to the 
Admiral that His Majesty would deign to lend a willing ear to any 
observations upon religion, war, politics, or any other topics most 
agreeable. Whereupon, the Admiral having a few remarks all 
ready prepared in his pocket, proceeded to dilate on the happiness 
he felt in being thus honored — spoke of the extraordinary beauty 



372 CHAPTER XLIV. 



of the Islands — touched upon usefulness of missionaries, and ended 
by expressing solicitude for His Majesty's welfare and dynasty. 

This speech was immediately translated by the courtly Judd, 
who, with admirable foresight, had provided himself beforehand 
with a copy. Thereupon he handed the King a reply, who began 
in much the same strain as the Admiral, and concluded by hinting 
that he hoped his dynasty would last a long time ! 

The business being now happily arranged, His Majesty and the 
Admiral became seated, and the rest of us were permitted to 
mingle freely with the Kanaka court. 

Kammehamma, and all his native attendants, had handsome, 
agreeable faces, and were extremely well made. The Premier, 
John Young, a half-breed, would be recognized for an elegant 
person in any part of the world. Two were of just and colossal pro- 
portions — one, the High Chief Parkee, the greatest Chamberlain 
probably in the world — for he weighs nearly four hundred pounds : 
I forget the precise number of chairs he crushes annually, but it is 
something enormous, and he is the terror of all housekeepers. 

The King, Premier and Judd, had broad red ribbons thrown 
baldric fashion over breast and shoulders, of such extreme breadth 
as to give the idea of the wearers having burst their jugular 
arteries. 

Whilst intently occupied regarding this brilliant throng, I hap- 
pened to attract the attention of an intelligent copper youth, some 
twenty years old, who spoke English perfectly well, and who in 
fact patronised me with great politeness and suavity of demeanor ; 
and well he might, for he was Prince of the blood royal, and 
could afford it. There chanced to be a fine engraving of Queen 
Victoria and infant family, in the hall. " This," said His High- 
ness, pointing with marked emphasis to the little Prince of Wales, 



HAWAIIAN COURTIERS. 373 



" this is the heir to the British throne !" Ah ! thought I, forgive 
me, but you occupy the same elevated position in the Hawaiian 
dynasty ! My conjecture was well founded. 

By some means the succession of late had been changed. And, 
by the way, it is a wise institution they have, of continuing the 
descent from the female branch. The war-club, feathers, and 
other regalia, were to have fallen upon the brows of one Prince 
Moses ; but Moses was suspected of being too pointed in his 
attentions to the Queen consort herself — scandal perhaps — al- 
though there could be no question about the sad havoc he com- 
mitted in the hearts of the youthful wyheenees of the Royal Acad- 
emy ! Ah ! wicked Moses ! His excellency the Financial Min- 
ister, fearing future inroads upon the peace of families, had the 
gay Lothario banished to a remote and desolate district of the 
Island, and the succession transferred to a brother — the youth 
who evinced so much complaisance towards me. 

We remained a full hour, and then made our adieus, u the 
interview having passed," according to the Court Journal, 
iC much to the satisfaction of all parties." 

For my own part I was excessively diverted with the raree- 
show, and thought it highly ridiculous. What greater folly can 
exist than aping the forms and etiquette of an European court ? 
If, as is contended, the natives are not sufficiently advanced in 
civilization for free government, it is by no means imperative to 
set up a tinsel puppet, to dazzle the eyes of a few half-naked 
savages ; for surely no intelligent person can be so blind an owl 
as not to detect and despise the cheat. These vain-glorious 
ceremonies and pretensions are also, in a certain degree, the 
cause of embroiling the Hawaiian Government with other nations, 
whose consuls or diplomatic agents complain of bad treatment ; 



374 CHAPTER XLIV. 



but in all the bullying or advice volunteered, incident upon their 
indiscretions, there has been none so sensible, and so plainly 
given, as the letter of an English Admiral to the King, conse- 
quent upon outrages committed upon a British subject in 1846. 
Outcries are raised, too, in these cases, by individuals who have 
renounced their own country and sworn allegiance to a new 
native master, about the oppression of American citizens. 

One may forgive the absurdity attending these proceedings in a 
Scotchman, but it is inexcusable in a Yankee. Still many 
measures emanatina; from these sagacious councillors are cha- 
racterised by a careful regard to the interests of the native popu- 
lation. But then there are other laws, which have not the 
ground of expediency to uphold them, wherein strangers are 
incapacitated from becoming owners of landed property without 
swearing fealty to the Hawaiian King ! As a consequence, the 
greater portion of tillable ground is held by the chief, who has 
neither the sense nor energy to direct the steps for a proper 
development of the soil. The lower order are the occupants, who 
themselves are not eligible to a free tenure, and at least one-half, 
or two-thirds the benefits of their labor is taken in some way by 
the proprietors. Thus, without an incentive to greater efforts 
the country languishes under the same species of feudal tyranny 
and extortion, as in the days of their cannibal forefathers ! The 
islands are rich and fertile ; sugar, coffee, and tobacco flourish luxu- 
riantly ; and under any other system than the present, there could be 
no bounds placed upon the advantages and wealth that would follow. 
Yet, although this policy, which destroys the energies and 
resources of the group, is in the greatest degree narrow-minded 
and illiberal, still it is the only course that will sustain the wise 
statesman who framed it; for their Excellencies are much too 



POLICY OF MINISTERS. 375 



shrewd not to perceive, with prophetic vision, that the very 
moment the lands are thrown open to foreign enterprise and com- 
petition, a preponderating influence will be acquired by the wealth 
and intelligence of foreigners themselves, the lands will slip like 
water through the hands of the chiefs; and not only will the 
Lonely One be called upon to throw off the Imperial tappa, but 
the royal ministers, also, will be required to resign the purse- 
strings and portfolios, and betake themselves to the retirements of 
simple citizenship. 

It is blameable, too, to pamper these semi-tutored island poten- 
tates with such highly-seasoned dainties, when in a few years, or 
may be months, they may be obliged to descend to native life, 
and without the interest attached to martyrs or Eastern princes 
we read of, be made a laughing-stock to their former subjects. 
As things remain, the entire institution of puppet-king, complex 
government, and scheming advisers, is at best but an indifferent 
piece of charlatanism and deception. 

Nevertheless we were distressed at the thoughts of leaving 
these lovely islands, for we had become deeply imbued with the 
rage for realizing rapid fortunes, in the culture of sugar and 
coffee. Indeed, some of our party were so thoroughly bitten, as 
to enter into negociations with prime ministers, and other great 
people, wherein special royal ordinances were to grant certain 
titles, with many advantageous exemptions ; and we spoke 
seriously of importing machinery, Malays, Chinese, and of other 
operations ; until at last we began to fancy ourselves doomed to 
pass the remainder of our lives among the kanakas. 



CHAPTER XLV. 

We were forty days at the Sandwich Islands, and on the 21st 
of September weighed anchor, and sailed away from the fertile 
vales of Oahu. Passing along the western shores of the group, 
we steered to the southward, until the trade winds carried us 
within a few hundred miles of the equator ; where meeting, 
between the parallels of seven and ten, a strong easterly current, 
reacting from the north-eastern trades, we were swept three 
hundred miles to the eastward. 

During this period we had light, variable winds, attended by a 
confused, uneasy sea, and one continual series of rains. The like 
was never seen ; it poured in torrents for seventeen days ; the tar 
of the standing rigging appeared white-washed ; sails wet, chafed, 
and torn ; decks sodden and spongy, and the heat below oppressive. 

One night, as usual, the windows of heaven were opened, and 
the rain came down, beyond all ancient similes. I was wet to the 
bones, and am convinced they too were damp ; the heavy canvas 
was slamming and beating against the masts and tops, with a 
noise like the report of cannon, whenever the ship gave a quick 
lurch, giving the idea of flying out of the bolt ropes ; indeed I 
wished they would, for the yards had been braced every way to 
woo the fitful breezes, which only for a moment would fill the 
leaden sails, and then hop around to another quarter. The night 



THE TAR OF ALL WEATHERS. 377 



was black as Erebus ! except when the lightning flashed out in a 
blinding glare, with a pale, blueish dazzle, like to the flash of a 
gun, or a burning blue light ; illuminating the mazes of rigging, 
lofty spars, and clusters of the watch, crouching under partial 
shelter of the hammock-nettings ; — then all was dark again. I was 
standing on the poop, up to my ancles in water, although feeling 
as if swimming ; a little old quarter-master directing the helms- 
man was at my elbow — I could not see, but I felt him, — he too 
was at times trying to feel the white feathery dog vane, to know 
where the wind was ! It was old Harry Greenfield ! None of 
your low-crowned, flowing-ribbon'd, wide-trouser'd dandy Jacks, 
pricked all over with china-ink, like a savage ; but a short, stout, 
wholesome little " tar of all weathers," with a pleasant, rosy, 
good-humored visage, bronzed and wilted to be sure, and rather 
mouldy about the head, for he had " served his full time in a 
man-of-war ship "-^-nearly half a century — and no doubt had 
taught many a sucking reefer, and given excellent advice to lots 
of sapient lieutenants — I know he has to me often ; in a word, 
to complete his portrait, he was the image of Durand's Santa 
Claus ! " Well," said I, " old gentleman, how are you to-night ?" 
" Dry as dust, sir." " What ! I thought you wet ! " " Fat ! " 
said he, misunderstanding me, " what on — salt junk ? You 
might carry a lump of it from here to Jerusalem, and not get 
enough fat to grease the pint of a sail-needle." " No ! wet I 
say." " Ah! yes, sir! You're right, my hands and feet are 
shrunk up like a washerwoman's thumb, but I meant inside, sir." 
" Well, here's the key of the locker, go down and take a glass of 
grog, but mind you allow for variation." " Aye, aye, sir — no 
higher nor nor-west." Presently he came splashing back to his 
old stand. " Mr. Blank, I don't see any shells, tappa, and them 



378 CHAPTER XLV. 



sorts of curiosities stowed away in your state-room." " What of 
that ? " " Presents to your friends, sir ? " " Oh, no, I heard of 
a witty lady, who had a nautical lover constantly sending her 
navy trash, that she had it all packed in the attic to prevent 
the drawing-rooms being taken for a sailor boarding-house." 
" Sensible woman, that," chuckled old Harry ; " you may buy 
the same things for half the money in Water-street, besides 
hubble hubbies made in Hamburgh." The rain came down with 
renewed violence, if possible, and I became so completely satu- 
rated, and water-logged, as to be on the point of requesting a 
couple of 'stout top -men to take me by head and heels and wring 
me comparatively dry, when our confab was interrupted by a 
sharp squall ; but just as as the frigate began to move lively 
through the water, the wind died quietly away, the topsails 
flapped against the masts, and all became dark and rainy as 
before. Could a saint help anathematising such weather ? " It's 
unpleasant business this going to sea," chimed in old Santa 
Claus, deprecating my wrath against the unfeeling elements ; 
6i you ought to try a smoker, I did once." " You did ? " said I, 
incredulously. " Yes, sir, I was paid off from a merchantman in 
Orleans, and took passage in one of them smokers, bigger than a 
three-decker." 

M But tell me, my old sea dog, why don't you leave the broad 
ocean, and settle down quietly on shore ?" " Why, sir, I can't 
afford it !" " No ! well, let me hear your ideas of life !" Moving 
close to my side, while the light from the binnacle flashed upon 
his pleasant face and dripping garments, he took a reflecting 
glance at the compass and then began : " D 'ye see, sir, I want a 
country seat — with a nice sail-boat. I 'd get up early, and take 
a good sniffler of brandy, with a dash of peppermint ; then I 'd go 



PASSAGE TO MARQUESAS. 379 

somewhere or another and take breakfast — call for me horse, and 
ride away eight or ten miles in the country — (he looked like a 
horseman!) — when I'd get half slewed, and come to town and 
visit the ladies — ." Here he appeared palled. " Go on,' 5 I said 
u Then, sir, I 'd take a glass of old Madeira — with an egg in it— 
every half hour — until bed-time, mind ye — when, with another 
sniffler " — 

" Eight bells !" sung out the orderly at the cabin doors. The 
watch was called to take their accustomed drenching, and I went 
below, without hearing the conclusion of old Greenfield's yarn. 

This weather, caused probably by the Equinox, lasted until the 
11th of October, when the winds sprang from the South, blew 
away the wet clouds, and carried the ship to a longitude of 128° 
in 5° North latitude, when the breeze gradually veered to the 
Eastward, and we crossed the Equator. On the morning of the 25tn 
we discovered the easternmost Islands of the Marquesas — passed 
Hood's Island, and the following day anchored in Nukeheva — the 
Anna Maria bay of Mr. Gouch — Surveyor of the Daedalus, one 
of Vancouver's squadron — who, in ignorance of the previous dis- 
covery by the Spaniards under Alvaro de Mendana, had named 
the group after his commander, Hergest. 



CHAPTER XLVI. 

The bay and harbor of Anna Maria is scooped out of the 
Island in shape of a horse-shoe ; hemmed in on three sides by 
steep mountains, whose sharp, well-defined acclivities spring boldly 
from the water — dense with foliage — where the brightest verdure 
closely clasps and kisses the perpendicular faces of the lofty bar- 
riers around. 

At the head of the harbor, along a white, shelly beach, are 
multitudes of cocoanuts, hibiscus, and bread-fruit trees, screening 
within their leafy groves thatched huts and villages of the natives. 
To the right is a rocky projection, frowning with a heavy battery 
of cannon ; while near by are the pretty villa and grounds of the 
Governor — barracks — store-houses — buildings and plantations 
pertaining to the French garrison. 

I viewed this scene soon after daylight, as the first rays of 
morning came glancing in horizontal gleams over the eastern 
heights, tinging the opposite peaks with the rich, warm glow of 
sunlight, peering and prying into many a green-clad precipice and 
grassy dell, step by step, until it fairly illumined the dark alcove- 
like bay and shores below. 

The anchors had hardly struck bottom before the frigate was 
surrounded by canoes, of a rough, clumsy structure, filled with 
natives of the most hideous and frightful descriptions. The men 



NATIVES OF NUKEHEVA. 381 



were nearly naked. Many had large, frizzled wigs of human hair, 
thrown down the back of the neck, and confined to the throat by 
cords or wire — a style of peruke not intended to be used, but 
merely as a decoration. Others had fresh green leaves entwined 
around the brows, with concave flaps in front, like visors to caps — 
their ears perforated with misshapen holes, in which were thrust 
carved ivory horns, or small bunches of flowers. The hair, from 
constant bleachings in salt water, dews and tropical suns, had a 
brown, sandy hue, or the color of tow — brushed straight back, 
somewhat resembling the head costume of ladies of the court of 
Louis Quatorze ! But what rendered them preeminently hideous, 
was the tatooing. It, indeed, bordered on the infernal ! Not only 
were their bodies covered with these dark stains, of every pattern, 
figure and device, but large numbers had angular stripes, two 
inches broad, beginning at the temple, crossing the eyelid, part 
of the nose, traversing the mouth and lips, and then going out of 
sight around the face. I judged it to be a dim idea of the facial 
angle. Others had the entire upper or lower part of the visage 
stained like masques in domino. Isosceles triangles were common, 
leaving the noses clear, and from a distance they appeared the 
only feature of their faces. There was one demon who claimed 
a large share of our attention : not a square inch of him, except- 
ing the tongue and eye-balls, was free from this hieroglyphical 
human "picture printing," and he took immense delight in point- 
ing out many high touches of art, that might from their position 
have eluded our observation, and dilated with, to us, unintelligible 
gibberish, upon certain other indescribable arabesques. We thought 
him intended as a pattern card; an ambulating advertisement, 
or sign board, sent abroad, as knowing tailors send dandies at 
home, to give an idea of the higher and more correct delineations 



382 ' CHAPTER XLYI. 



of the tatoo : but this individual was altogether so very interest- 
ing a specimen of goblin tapestry, that Champollion himself might 
have studied him with much benefit and gusto. 

They all looked like consummate rascals, and not in the physi- 
ognomony of a single individual could we detect the slightest 
approach to benevolence, or any of the milder virtues. On the 
contrary, they are famed for cruelty, selfish apathy, and cunning, 
and are among the worst of the Polynesian tribes. There have been 
two or three praiseworthy attempts to reform them, by different 
missionary boards, but they signally failed. The Nukehevans 
were found too vicious to even suffer, without great privation and 
danger, their teachers to reside on the islands, and they now remain 
in the same shocking state of barbarism as before the discovery of 
the group, in sad contrast, so far as the humanizing influences of 
Christianity and civilization extend, to the benefits the pioneers 
of religion have shed upon the other islands of these Indian Archi- 
pelagoes. 

During the few years the French, in their rage for colonization 
in the Pacific, have occupied Nukeheva, they have encountered 
great difficulties in keeping these unruly natives within the bounds 
of moderation. For a length of time they were continually on 
the qui viva to guard against treachery and attack ; of late, the 
islanders had been quiet, understanding that the French, who 
held the harbor under what was termed a forcible proprietorship, 
were shortly to depart ; and, indeed, as a preparatory step, some 
of the government buildings had already been taken down and 
sent to Tahiti. Still there seems no reason why the Marquesans 
should have evinced this bitter hostility, for it was conceded that 
they have been treated with great lenience and forbearance. 

As a harbor of refuge, in time of war, Anna Maria is perfectly 



FRENCH GARRISON. 383 



safe — accessible and defensible ; but from the natural indolence 
of the natives, it is destitute of supplies in sufficient quantities to 
feed even the few whale-ships touching here during the year. 

The garrison was composed of two hundred and fifty Infanterie 
de la Marine, maintained, no doubt, at considerable expense, and 
for what present or perspective benefit it would be difficult to 
surmise. The Governor was M. Fournier, the commander, a] so, 
of a fine corvette, the Galathee, moored near the shore battery. 
He was all prepared to give us a warm reception, in case our ship 
had worn the cross of St. George at her peak, instead of a 
Yankee gridiron, for they were hourly anticipating a rupture with 
England, consequent upon the French revolution. 

Going on shore, I made the acquaintance of a number of polite 
officers belonging to the garrison, and had "also the pleasure of 
meeting an old friend, a handsome young Enseigne de Vaisseau. 
" Ah !" said he, " would you believe, I've been here amid these 
beasts of savages eighteen months. Mon Dieu ! Such a monotone 
diablement horrible ! And do you remember all France was talk- 
ing of Du Petit Thorns and this Paradise of Polynesia, and I, like 
a fool, was dazzled, too ! Sacre ! Voila /" — pointing to a group of 
copper-tinted and tatooed imps reclining under a banana tree 
devouring raw fish, and sucking poee with their filthy fingers — ■ 
u and regard me in a flannel jacket, smoking pipes, and reading, 
for the hundredth time, old Revues des deux Moncles ! perpetually 
sighing for those ravishing scenes we passed together — those 
dinners in the Bois de Bologne — the races in the alleys by moon- 
light — evenings at Ranelagh, when I used to dance the cancan 
with poor Reine Pomaree, and, behold, I've a lock of her hair," 
running to an escrutoire ; " and is it not droll we should meet 
again five thousand leagues away, and so near the veritable 



384 - CHAPTER XLVI. 



dominions of the great Poniaree herself !" My young friend had 
cause truly to be disgusted. 

We took a long stroll around the beaches and valleys at the 
head of the harbor, made a number of visits, then bathed in a 
shallow, discolored stream of mineral water. The district is not 
populous, and, during our sojourn, the king and many of the 
natives had gone to a high heathenish festival in an adjacent 
valley, on the opposite side of the island. Since the occupation 
by the French, perfect amity had existed between the different clans 
of Nukeheva, where each petty chief and people are independent 
sovereigns in their romantic and secluded valleys : not so much 
for mutual friendship existing between them, as in hatred to 
their white visitors. The French seldom wandered to any great 
distance from their quarters, fearing, possibly, the " anthropopa- 
gian tastes of their cannibalistic brethren." 

The women were tall and well shaped, with very much brighter 
complexions than the Hawaiians, and, with exceptions of young 
girls, were all more or less disfigured by the indigo hues of tatoo ; 
the faces escaping with a few delicate blue lines, or dots, on lips or 
cheeks. They all seemed complimented, and gave us every assist- 
ance in deciphering different designs engraved upon their persons, 
and one buxom dame, who had a large painting similar to the tail 
of a peacock spread upon her shoulders, insisted upon doffing her 
drapery and preceding us, that we might study its beauties with 
every facility possible ! 

Many were decorated with bracelets and necklaces of leaves or 
flowers, and some with anklets of human hair, toe nails, and other 
valuable relics. All were perfumed with cocoanut oil, and 
smeared with another equally odoriferous ointment, which dyed 
arms and faces a deep saffron — neither cosmetic was I able to 



KING'S PALACE 335 



acquire a taste for, after repeated trials ; and, indeed, I may 
admit, that I have never conquered a disgust, perhaps engendered 
by too nice a sense of perfume. 

From a number of unmistakable signs and expressions, I pre- 
sumed the Frames were not entirely beloved, even by the women, 
although the men deigned ludicrous attempts in mode of beard, 
moustache, shrug of shoulders, and other little grimace, to copy 
French dress and manner. 

After bathing, we reclined on the thwarts of an immense war- 
canoe that was hauled upon the beach, capable of holding, at 
least, fifty paddles, and amused ourselves watching a score o? 
young girls swimming in the bay : they swam like fishes, but, a* 
there were no surf or rocks, I had no means of determining what 
novel or extraordinary feats they were able to perform : they were 
quite skilful little fisherwomen, and procured for us a cocoanut- 
shell full of delicious oysters — no bigger than shilling pieces — 
which served to pass the time until we adjourned to the king's 
house. 

It was rather a modern structure — of roughly -laid stones and 
boards — built by the French, though falling to decay. There 
was but a single apartment of tolerable size — floor and walls were 
strewn with mats, stools, a couple of bedsteads, spyglasses, fowl- 
ing-pieces covered with rust, spears 3 nets, calibashes, rolls of 
tappa, war conches, whales' teeth, circular crowns of cocks' 
feathers, besides an infinite variety of serviceable and useless 
trumpery, scattered indiscriminately around. 

Coiled up on a low, beastly collection of mats and tappa, was 
a repulsive object, half dead with some loathsome disease, and 
drunk with arva — he was the chief's brother, and was expected 
17 



386 CHAPTER XLVI. 



to die shortly, or be killed on the return of his sovereign — a cus- 
tom strictly observed with invalids and old, decrepid persons. 

Within a stone's throw of this habitation, was another nearly 
completed, in native design. The foundation was raised two feet 
by a platform of large, round, smooth stones. The building 
itself was in shape of an irregular inverted acute angle, or trape- 
zoid, at the ends, with the legs slightly inclined outwardly, 
and resting on the foundation. Large upright shafts of polished 
red wood supported roof and sides, which were nicely formed of 
frames of white poles, lashed securely and neatly together by 
braids of parti-colored sennit, and thatched evenly and tastefully 
over by the spear-shaped leaves of the pandannus, leaving the 
front of the dwelling open for light and air. It presented a deal 
of ingenuity and nice mechanism in the design and construction. 

The French allow the king sixty dollars a-month, and I should 
say, from the careless appearance of his household, that he made 
a bad use of it — besides, he was addicted to arva, which my 
friend assured me was a shade worse for the stomach than prussic 
acid. I returned to the frigate in the evening, with a party 
planned to visit the Happar valley, whose beauties we had heard 
much extolled, on the following day. 



CHAPTER XLVII. 

E^rly the next morning I went on shore, but duties of the 
garrison prevented the officers from leaving until the morning 
was somewhat advanced — too late to cross the dividing ridges to 
the adjacent glens, and we accordingly changed the destination, 
for an excursion up the valley at the head of the harbor. 

A pah* of native boys preceded us, with baskets. Walking briskly 
through paths lined with thick, wild undergrowth of tobacco, 
arrow-root, ginger and guavas, we mounted a number of ac- 
clivities, and then striking the bed of a water-course, in two hours 
reached a comparatively level space, which, my friend informed 
me, was la cour de Pancienne Noblesse, and the spot where high 
festivals of the Nukehevans were held. The court was a paral- 
lelogram, paved with smooth, round stones, and on three sides 
surrounded by native-built houses, unoccupied, but very large 
and commodious, all in good repair, and ready for a perspective 
feast. At the lower ends of the square coursed a little stream, 
and the place was dark with shade of lofty cocoanuts, bread-fruit, 
iron-wood, maple and gigantic hibiscus. All was silent, gloomy 
and deserted, the imperative decrees of Taboo preserved it 
sacred from native footsteps, during the intervals between their 
sacrifices and feasts — even our cumulees — boys, made a wide 
circuit, with bowed heads and averted faces. 



388 * CHAPTER XLVII. 



, Closely scrutinizing this field of heathenish revels, we continued 
on up the ravine, and in a few minutes familiarly paid our respects 
to the King's father, by unceremoniously bobbing through his 
doorway, and slapping him smartly on the back. 

The hut was large, in accordance with the position, rank and 
wealth of the owner. A trickling rivulet in front filled a scooped- 
out bowl in the rocks, some yards in diameter, and then flowed 
over a little natural channel, worn at the side, like the gutter to 
a fountain. Around and above, the cocoanuts were rustling in 
the sea-breeze. 

We were cordially greeted by the host, who was seated on his 
hams and heels, with no other apparel than a maro wound around 
the loins, and a necklace of straggling, snow-white hairs hanging 
on his meagre breast ; it was the honored beard of his ancestors, 
which was, I suppose, retained merely to swear by, as it did not 
appear either valuable or ornamental. He was a remarkable and 
venerable Goblin, and he informed us that his existence comprised 
nine hundred moons. This would have made him somewhere 
verging on eighty years ; but he appeared as aged as Saturn. 

He was tatooed all over the body and limbs, face alone ex- 
empted. It must have occupied as much time to delineate him 
as it did Rafael to fresco the galleries of the Vatican ! But his 
hide was so ancient and worm-eaten, that many fine touches were 
almost illegible. Around his knees were playing two little dusky 
imps, scarcely a year old ! God knows where they came from — - 
may have been a present, as it is all the fashion among the 
Marquesans. Nevertheless, he regarded them with the most 
affectionate interest, and watched their every movement, even to 
sucking his mouldering toes and pulling his grizzly top -knot, with 
the tenderest solicitude. Presently they crawled in front of the 



WE ENJOY OURSELVES. 389 



dwelling, and actually toddled into the pool. I instantly started 
up to fish them out, but the old Goblin only chuckled, and the 
little elfs kept bobbing about the surface of the water with the 
buoyancy of corks — like junk bottles in a lea-way — crowing and 
smiling bravely. I never was more amazed, and taking a dip 
myself afterwards, found the basin up to my neck. 

Native attendants soon produced clusters of cocoanuts, with the 
crowns of their heads knocked off, ready for consumption. We 
made cocoanut-milk punch — every man his own punch-bowl ; 
with a sprinkle of lime-juice, and syrup of powdered sugar-cane 
— gently agitated within the milky shells — which made as delicious 
a beverage as ever a regent brewed : it is worth a trip to Poly- 
nesia alone to enjoy it. Then exploring the resources of the 
baskets, we discovered a case of sardines, bread, bananas, and 
oranges ; made luncheon, and fed the children on the crumbs. 

Pipes were filled, and a native boy quickly brought forth two 
sticks, and cutting the hardest to a point, and holding the other 
firmly fixed against a stone, began to wear a groove with the 
pointed stick in the softest by a measured movement along the 
surface. Presently a fine dust was deposited at the lower end ; 
the white wood turned dark ; quicker and quicker, stronger and 
stronger traversed the pointed stick ; the dust began to smoke, 
some dry fibres and leaves were laid across, and in an instant 
burst into a blaze. The operation lasted three or four minutes, 
and was skilfully performed. I had plenty of lucifers in my 
pocket, but not having witnessed the native process of striking 
fire, and thinking a little wholesome exertion would not injure the 
young Cumulee, I did not produce them. 

Throwing ourselves at full length on the mats, we devoted the 
time to conversation and tobacco. The old Goblin fascinated me. 



390 CHAPTER XL VII. 



I could not remove my gaze from his lineaments, but by and by 
I opined that there was a singular odor pervading the habitation ; 
and upon reflection, I experienced something unpleasant upon 
first entering ; but then there are so many villanous compounds 
surrounding native dwellings, and being moreover deeply engaged 
brewing punch, eating luncheon, smoking, and surveying the 
Goblin, I forgot other matters for the time being, until a pause in 
the conversation induced me to enquire the cause of the annoy- 
ance. Ah ! said a Frenchman, giving a few agonizing sniffs, and 
looking around: Ah! le void! Casting my eyes upward, I 
beheld a long object, enveloped in native cloth and tappa, hang- 
ing slantingly across a beam, like a fantoccino, just before 
throwing a summerset on the slack-wire ! It was a near rela- 
tive, lately deceased, who from an elevated and unchristian 
notion of respect, had been suspended under the paternal roof, 
until dry enough to be deposited in a raised native tomb of stones 
and thatch. Dropping the pipe, I gained my feet, and bidding 
our antique host a hasty farewell, rushed into the open air ; where, 
after swallowing a modicum of eau de vie neat, I swore a mental 
vow never more to visit Nukehevan nobility ! 

Returning towards the harbor, we tarried to exchange a kind 
word with the Catholic priest attached to the garrison. It is need- 
less to add that he had made no proselytes among the natives, 
and when, from idle curiosity or merriment, they attended mass, 
and were under no apprehensions from Frame bayonets, they 
delighted themselves by mimicking every word and gesture of the 
good father. 

During the jaunt we encountered two or three American or 
English vagabonds, residing permamently on the island, subsist- 



THE WHALING FLEET. 391 



ing 011 poee poee and raw fish, lost to all the tastes and habits of 
civilized society, making a livelihood by trading with ships touch- 
ing at the group, or idolized by the islanders for their skill in the 
distillation of deleterious intoxicating drinks from the dragon- 
tree, kava, or sugar-cane. They are a class of persons, who, if 
not naturally unprincipled, are driven by harsh usage to desert 
from the whalers, and the contrast of the indolent voluptuous 
life of the islands, with the hardships and disease of shipboard, 
is more than sufficient to reconcile them to the change. 

The whaling interests of the United States have now attained 
so vast a magnitude, that it is high time our government should 
take measures exclusively for their protection in these seas. The 
enterprise of our hardy fishermen has driven the ships of all 
other nations almost entirely off the ground of competition. 
In the Pacific, and its continental seas alone, we have a mighty 
fleet of more than five hundred whale ships, manned in the 
aggregate by twenty thousand seamen. The larger portion of 
these vessels are fitted for the right whale, and seek their prey 
on the northern coasts of America or Asia, in high southern 
latitudes, and latterly, with extraordinary success, on the shores 
of Japan and sea of Okokts. The sperm fishermen cruise near 
the equator, and not only are frequently surrounded by dan- 
gerous navigation, amidst islands or reefs little known, but have 
also to guard against surprise, and the treachery of savages of the 
uncounted groups of Polynesia ; unavailingly at times, for, in 
addition to the long catalogue of crimes committed in this ocean, 
was that of the capture of the ship Triton, in December of '47, 
by the natives of Sydenham Island — one of the King's Mill 
cluster — a number of whose crew were inhumanly massacred. 

It does not necessarily follow that the natives are always to 



392 CHAPTER XL VII. 



blame — gross outrages sometimes demand prompt vengeance ;— 
but jet a small squadron of double-decked corvettes, of light 
draught, and ample stowage, constantly cruising, and touching 
among these groups, would tend in a great degree to shield our 
whalers from harm, and the natives themselves from the impo- 
sition and injustice so commonly practised upon them. 

Again, if there were stringent laws for the internal government 
of this branch of our marine — were masters not allowed under 
any circumstances to keep the sea beyond the usual period 
comprised in a fishing season, before visiting port, and the scurvy 
considered a capital offense, we should meet with fewer instances 
of desertions or mutiny, and fewer diseased, vicious vagabonds 
drifting about these islands at the mercy of the natives. 



CHAPTER XLVIII 

On the 28th of September, the well-used chains and anchors 
were raised from their beds, and with a light wind we drifted 
slowly from the lonely bay of Anna Maria. The sun arose the 
next morning, and a dim blue haze alone pointed to the spot on 
the ocean where lie the Marquesas. 

The fifth day after sailing from Nukeheva, we approached the 
north-western clusters of the Society group, and passed a number 
of low coralline islands, appearing like a raft of upright spars 
adrift upon the sea. One was Kruzenstein's — named by Kotzbue, 
in compliment to his old commander. 

At sunrise of the following day, we were before Tahiti. The 
land rises, grand and imposing, to the elevation of seven thousand 
feet. One core-like ridge runs along the summit, branching off 
into numberless steep valleys and acclivities, down to the water's 
edge. The peaks pierce the sky bold and strikingly — thrown up 
into the most fantastic and grotesque shapes — while more singular 
than all, cradled between a great gap of the heights, is the 
Diadem of Faatoar, having a dozen pointed elevations circling 
around a crown, like the serrated teeth of a saw. Nearer towards 
the bases of these ridges are low points jutting into the ocean, 
crowded with cocoanut trees — then a narrow belt of lagoon, and 
17* 



394 CHAPTER XL VIII. 



the whole girdled by a snow-white wreath of foam, embroidered 
on the coral reefs. 

The morning was cloudless. To the southward, rising clearly 
and bright, tinged by the glorious sun, undraped by a single atom 
of mist or vapor, was the Island of Aimeo, equally varied and 
novel in its strange formations ; and when at a later day we sailed 
around it, while the different phases were brought in clear relief 
against the heavens — we discovered battlements, embrasures, 
pyramids — ruined towers with terraces and buttresses — a cathe- 
dral with domes and spire — all so fantastically blended in one 
beautifully verdant picture, as to leave the imagination in doubt 
as to its reality ! 

We hove to in sight of the harbor of Papeetee. The French 
ships of war, with chequered rows of ports, were lying with 
drooping flags and not a breath of air, whilst with us the loud 
trade-wind was tearing crests from the waves, and the frigate 
trembling under her top-sails. 

A gun, and jack at the fore, and shortly there came dancing 
over the waves, in a whale-boat, an officer, Monsieur le Pilot ! 
Two hours we remained outside, awaiting the breeze to fill the 
Port — and then wearing round, the ship leaped, replete with life 
and vigor — every seam of the stout canvas straining — towards 
an entrance through a coral gateway. The sea was light green 
on either side of the aperture, barely wide enough to admit us, 
when, at the turning point, the helm was put down, and the 
strong wind bore the huge hull through the blue channel into the 
smooth water within. Sails were brailed up, and at the proper 
moment down fell the ponderous anchor — splash — with its unfet- 
tered cable rumbling to the coral beds of Papeetee ! What if 
there chanced to be a group of mermaids, parting their wet locks, 



HARBOR OF PAPEETEE. 395 



in the emerald villas below ? Nothing ! Crashing through the 
snowy groves and shelly mansions, goes the ruthless anchor, alike 
indifferent to all ! 

We were locked in by the reef — no ungainly ledge of black, 
jagged rocks — no frightful barrier to make tempest-tost mariners 
shudder — but a smooth parapet of coral, just beneath the surface, 
with the outer face like a bulwark of adamant, where the swelling 
billows vainly expend their rage, and then bubble rippling over 
in a liquid fringe of creamy foam. 

Skirting along the semi-circular shores of the harbor, is the 
town of Papeetee. Lines of houses and cottages half smothered 
in glossy green foliage — pretty, square-built, veranda 'd, straw- 
colored dwellings and barracks of the French — and midway 
between reef and shore, a little bouquet of an islet, teeming with 
cocoanut, banian, bread-fruit and the iron-wood tree, with its 
filmy, feathery, delicate tissue of leaves and branches — all droop- 
ing over a few cane-thatched sheds and a demi-lune battery of 
open-mouthed cannon. 

Night came, and the breeze was done. Not a sigh disturbed 
the tranquil water — the towering ships were mirrored and reflected 
by the moonlight — red fires were shedding twinkling glooms from 
fishing canoes, through the moon's silver flame, athwart the spark- 
ling phosphorescent surf — the sharp peaks of Tahiti were hanging 
high above, with Aimeo dimly visible in the distance ! Presently 
bugles from the ships of war rang out clear and shrill in the calm 
night — drums rattled — tap — tap — tap — flash — flash — the nine 
o'clock guns, and as the reverberating echoes from the reports 
went dying away from valley to valley, there came the clash of 
cvmbals from the shore, and then the full crash of a brass band. 



396 CHAPTER XLVIII. 



pouring forth the most delightful melody from Norma ; whilst the 
low " sharing" roar on the reef beat time in a deep musical base. 

We thought Papeetee by far the loveliest spot that we had 
seen, not excepting charming little Hilo ! 

Pomaree's flag and the French tricolor floated side by side. The 
queen was handsomely pensioned, as were also the chiefs, the French 
having kindly taken possession of their heritage, under a forcible 
protectorate. People may prate an ocean of nonsense about the 
injustice of the thing, but the fact is, France wished colonies in 
the Pacific — Tahiti was one selected, and the English themselves 
afforded an excellent pretext to make the acquisition. Suppose, 
for example — Catholics had been first in the field, and, by their 
instigation, Protestant or Puseyite missionaries had been kicked 
into the sea, would John Bull in his lion's mantle have calmly 
beheld his subjects maltreated for heresy, in striving to preach 
the Gospel among the heathen ? No ! not without baring his 
claws, and making them felt in the tawny hides of every savage 
in Polynesia ! Ay ! and, if need be, in white skins, also, though 
they had been French ! 

Then what sickly sympathy it is to talk of the wrongs and 
aggressions, or the rights and laws of European nations as having 
a bearing upon a handful of barbarians, subjected to the savage 
sway of tyrannical native masters, when contrasted with the bene- 
fits conferred upon the world at large, by their being under the 
enlightened rule of a civilized government ! 

The French experienced hard fighting and much difliculty in 
subduing Tahiti ; and, even after all the trouble, loss of blood 
and money, it seems highly probable that they are dissatisfied 
with their conquest, and may shortly resign it : at any rate, 
the expenditure attending the occupation must be very great, and 



SOCIETY ISLANDS. 397 



it appears a mistaken policy in retaining so large a garrison. 
There were thirteen hundred troops, exclusive of ships of war 
always in port, posted in Tahiti — far more than needed to over- 
awe the natives, and too few to withstand a land attack from a 
foreign foe. Trade is a mere bagatelle — the French have no 
commerce — and whale-ships have deserted Papeetee, since most 
of the produce is consumed by the garrison. The population, as 
in all Polynesia, are constitutionally opposed to labor — they can- 
not bend their energies to any steady employment, and, when 
compelled to work, they pine away like unhappy monkeys — thus 
the soil, though rich and tillable, is only made to produce a small 
quantity of arrow root, sugar, and cocoanut oil. 

Fortifications were progressing rapidly, and the harbor is very 
susceptible of defence. Two heavy batteries, en cavalier , which, 
when completed, were to mount sixteen traversing guns, mostly 
eighty-pounder shells, will rake the entrance through the reef, at 
point-blank range ; twelve more cannon on Pomaree's little islet of 
Motuuata, cross the fire from the shore battery, and sweep in 
every direction over the reef-seaward. There are besides, four 
small block houses, perched on the salient spurs of the mountains 
in rear of the town, with each a long gun which can be brought to 
bear on the harbor. All the world bear witness with what skill 
the French use artillery on land, and it must be an intrepid com- 
mander who attempts a demonstration on the island by the harbor 
of Papeetee. 

The Governorship was placed in the hands of M. Lavaud, to 
whom, with the officers of the garrison, and officers afloat of the 
fine frigate, Syrene, and steamer, Gassendi, we were indebted for 
many acts of courtesy. They were all extremely Republican, 
under their reversed tricolor 



398 CHAPTER XLVIII. 



Since the occupation of the Society and Marquesas groups, 
Tahiti has been made the See of a bishop. But although the Ca- 
tholics have prosecuted their labors with laudable and philanthopic 
zeal, yet, strange as it may be, they have not met with the same 
success as their fellow missionaries in the Hawaiian Islands. Nor 
have the Tahitians, together with the inhabitants of many of these 
southern groups, forgotten the early truths taught them by their 
kind Protestant teachers, and they still lament the untimely fate 
of John Williams : a man of the noblest piety, possessed of the 
undaunted resolution and industry of the Apostles of old, who fell 
a martyr to his faith and labors, among the very savages he went 
to reform. 

There were two excellent gentlemen, stationed at Papeetee 
from the London Board of Protestant Missions — Messrs. Howe 
and Thompson — who, if sound sense, unbiassed by narrow-minded 
sectarian prejudice, combined with great practical information 
and knowledge of the native character, can be of service in their 
mission, they have indeed the true elements of success. From 
the opportunities we had of judging in Papeetee and the vicinity, 
there certainly was exhibited a more modest and correct deport- 
ment among the natives than we observed elsewhere ; and although 
morality, strictly speaking, is unknown, there was still less out- 
ward licentiousness visible than was a matter of hourly occur- 
rence in the other groups. 

Note.— In all the lighter sketches upon Polynesia, I cannot resist paying the faint 
tribute of my own individual admiration to Mr. Melville. Apart from the innate beauty 
and charming tone of his narratives, the delineations of Island life and scenery, from 
my own personal observation, are most correctly and faithfully drawn. 

At Nukeheva and Tahiti I made inquiry about his former associates, and without in 
the least designing to sully the enchanting romance of his fair Typee love, I may 
mention having seen a c: nut-brown » damsel, named Fayaway, from that valley, who 
apparently was maid of all work to a French Commissary of the garrison. She was 
attired in a gaudy yellow robe de chambre, ironing the Crapeau's trowsers ! Credat 



THE EMBROCATION. 399 



Judcus ! There was also a diminutive young oui oui tumbling about the mats, so it is 
presumable she had become childish of late ; yet the proof is not strong, for it is quite 
as much in vogue among these souther groups to change names and give away 
infants, as the fashion in the Sandwich Islands of knocking out a couple of front 
teeth to evince grief at the decease of near friends or relatives, and the nymph alluded 
to may not be the original Fayaway after all. 

Mr. Melville's friend, Dr. Johnstone, whom he has immortalized in Omoo, was 
excessive wroth, and refused to be pacified, resolving shortly to prosecute the 
English publishers for libel. He politely permitted me to transcribe some items from 
his dose book, declaring, however, that the " embrocation " so relished by the Long 
Ghost, was a villanous preparation, having the least taste of gin in the world, and 
made up from laudanum, turpentine, and soap linament ! Here is the memorandum : — 
'•' Ship, Lucy Ann, Captain Vinton. 
October 15th, 1842. Melvil Herman. Stocks. 

Embrocation 75 

19th. Do. 75 

$1 50" 
I felt no inclination to task it, since I found the Doctor's other prescriptions unex- 
ceptionable. The Ghost must have been seriously indisposed ; he had a large quan- 
tity : was supposed at the period of our visit to be in Sydney, or after gold in 
California, but, with his ubiquitous propensities, may have been in both places. 
Captain Bob, of the Calaboosa, was i: muckee-moi," so was Father Murphy, all under 
the sod. Charming Mrs. Bell had taken to hard drink, before Mr. Melville's rencontre, 
and may have been slightly elevated on that occasion. H. M. ci-devant Consul, Mr. 
Wilson, was in the like vinous state, and occupied his leisure in the pursuit of shells 
at the Navigator Islands. Shorty was still devoting his talents to the culture 
of potatoes at Aimeo, and strongly suspected of shooting his neighbor's cattle. 



CHAPTER XLIX. 

The ram fell in torrents the day succeeding our arrival, and 
it was not until Sunday that I had courage to set foot on shore : 
then I went solus, and jumping on the beach, two minutes' walk 
found me in the Broom Road, a broad lane running nearly 
the entire circuit of Tahiti, within a stone's throw of the surf- 
locked lagoons, shaded like a bower by magnificent trees and 
undergrowth, that hang their drooping, green arms in grateful 
coolness, to shield the traveller from the heat of tropical suns. 
Notwithstanding mud from recent rains, the roads and lateral 
paths were thronged with natives : I was surprised to find them 
so much superior in physical mould and beauty to those of other 
islands we had visited. The men were well proportioned, and 
some with a noble bearing ; the women were very tall, scarcely 
one less than five feet eight ; many of the young girls were exqui- 
sitely shaped, with small hands and feet. Moreover, they had 
borrowed a nicer taste in dress from the French, and their gowns 
and bonnets were very becomingly worn. 

I splashed and trudged about the Broom Road until evening, 
and then, following the tide of population, entered the well laid 
out grounds of the gubernatorial mansion. The lawns and 
alleys were crowded with natives, ofhcers and soldiers, listening to 
the evening music ; this over, I devoted the evening wandering 



BROOM HO AD OF TAHITI. 401 

from cafe to cafe, and wondering if I were in France or Tahiti. 
Lights were gleaming from every little auberge and cabaret of 
the town — the tables within covered with pipes and bottles of red 
wine — soldiers were drinking and chanting favorite songs of Ber- 
anger ; and one inebriated sapper, meeting me in the road, placed 
both hands on my shoulders, and roared out, with but an indif- 
ferent appreciation of music : 

" J'ai comm Moreau — Victor — Augerau — 
Et Murat — Et Massen— a— a — 

Vash a fling a flong — tra a long, a long — !" 

The streets were filled with groups of gaily-attired native girls, 
who, with low, musically laughing voices, were chattering their 
soft, vowelly dialect, unceasingly, interrupted occasionally by some 
gallant Frenchman, who would perhaps give a stray damsel a 
chuck under the chin, or a hasty clasp around the waist, and 
pass on, regardless of their lively sallies. Then overgrown 
gend'armes would be perceptible in the distance, by their white 
cotton aguillettes and clashing sabres, when the nymphs would 
disappear like frightened partridges amid the adjacent groves, 
and all were hushed in an instant, until the dreadful police had 
passed by, when they would again emerge and occupy their for- 
mer ground. Then, too, the light yellowish tinge of plastered 
houses, so often seen in France — the thatched cane huts of the 
natives — sentinels pacing the" ramparts — near by, a brass field- 
piece gazing up the road — and beneath the spreading bread fruit, 
or under the stately trunk of a cocoanut, a soldier in red breeches^ 
resting on the shining barrel of his musket. All this, with the pro- 
fusion of tropical foliage, the grand scenery of the island, and a 
thousand other novel scenes, so strangely contrasted with demi-bar- 



402 CHAPTER XLIX. 



bare life, that I became quite bewildered, and was glad to make the 
acquaintance of an agreeable French officer, who, with a bottle 
of Bourcleaux, soon brought me to my senses. 

J passed the night on shore, in the warehouse of an American 
merchant, and should probably have slept well, in defiance of 
musquitoes, had not a choice coterie of sous-officers^ in an adjoining 
cabaret, within-arm's length of my window, made vociferous 
music, by screaming Republican airs until daylight, very much 
incited, no doubt, by continual cries of Encore du vin y mon 
cher, and the usual ringing accompaniment of bottles and 
glasses. 

Rising betimes, I donned walking dress, and after breakfast, in 
company with my friend Larry and an officer of the French Ma- 
rine, who spoke the Tahitian dialect perfectly well, we leftPapeetee 
for an excursion up the Broom Road towards Point Venus. 

The rain had quenched the dust, and there was a grateful 
freshness clinging around the lime and orange groves. The sun 
had not yet drank the sparkling diamond-drops of dew trembling 
upon the guava thickets, nor had the breeze shaken a leaf of the 
towering cocoanuts, nor vibrated a single sphere of bread-fruit 
that hung like pendulums from amid the glossy leaves. The air, 
too, was heavy with perfume of orange and jessamine — : and we 
went larking along the quiet road — kicking up our heels and 
whooping joyously — pausing a moment to catch a gleaming view 
of the slender peaks above us — the conspicuous Diadem of Faa- 
toar — the green savannahs sloping up the valleys, or the blue sea 
and reef as yet undazzled by the rising sun. 

We dallied frequently with young cocoanuts, and said aroka — 
love to you — to any lithe vahinees we encountered in our path. 
Once we tarried for lepose and beer at a French auberge, and 



POMAREE ? S PALACE AT PAPOA. 403 



then, without further break to our voyage, we continued on along 
the curves of the reef-locked shores for some miles, when a lane 
branched away to the left, and we came to the new country house 
of Pomaree at Papoa. 

It stands on a narrow coralline embankment, within a bound 
of the smooth, pebbly beach — surrounded by noble trees, and 
overhanging clusters of the richest tropical foliage. The building 
is an oblong oval, one hundred feet by thirty. Through the 
centre runs a range of square, polished columns of light koa wood, 
eighteen feet high, supporting a cross-sleeper the whole length of 
the roof: from this beam, drooping down at an angle of about 
fifty degrees, were a great number of white, glistening poles, 
radiating with perfect evenness and regularity to within six feet 
of the ground, where they were notched and tied securely with 
braids of variegated sennit to ridge-pieces fitted in posts around 
the circuit of the building. The roof was thatched with the long, 
dried, tapering leaves of pandannus, folded on slim wands, and 
plaited in regular lines, down to the eaves, where, just within, 
fell a few inches of plain fringed matting nicely stitched to the 
roof. Inside this curtain, again, were the perpendicular sides of 
the dwelling, constructed of the same white poles of hibiscus as 
those upholding the roof, and all lashed by braid to cross sections 
between the posts — leaving narrow spaces between each pole, and 
but two arches for doorways on the side opposite the sea. 

The house was quite new, and indeed hardly completed, but 
with the breeze blowing through the open trellis-worked walls, 
and the great lofty roof hanging lightly above, it presented the 
most airy, fanciful structure conceivable, and was admirably 
adapted to the climate and habits of the Islanders. 

The floor was carpeted with dried grass and rushes, six inches 



404 CHAPTER XLIX. 



deep ; mats were scattered around, groups of swarthy natives 
were lounging listlessly on the grass, and bands of girls and 
women engaged weaving mats, scraping cocoanut shells to trans 
parent thinness, playing cards, or sleeping on the laps of others. 

The Queen was absent on a visit to the island of Aimeo. She 
Was described as a brave, temperate, fat old lady of about forty 
years, who has never yet been able to overcome youthful preju- 
dices against European style of living — and although the French 
have built and furnished her a pleasant residence in Papeetee, she 
is still happy to kick off etiquette, with her shoes, and fly to native 
pleasures and kindred. She was blessed with a large family, and 
six were being educated in Aimeo by the English Mission, who 
with great liberality would voluntarily defray the expenses of 
their education, as well as of the children of the high chiefs ; but 
the Governor very properly sets aside portions of their pensions 
for that purpose, which is undoubtedly the best use the money 
can be put to. As Pomaree detests the French, and cannot be 
persuaded to assume, except for a moment, European manners 
and customs, she neither assumes any of their virtues, but leads 
a rollicking, sportive life, surrounded by gay troupes .of frolicsome 
attendants — spending the remainder of her five thousand dollar 
stipend in decking her dark-eyed favorites with pretty dresses 
and trinkets. 

Mr. Ellis has written an interesting poem, filled with virtuous 
indignation in relation to the poor Queen's wrongs, and there is 
one couplet which is unfortunately too true — 

" Who would believe that England would have left 
That trusting- Queen thus suffering and bereft?" 

The fact is, the beautiful princess Aimata that was, is now by 



QUEEN POMAREE. 405 



her own imprudence low in purse, and having acquired the habit 
of coquetting too extensively with tradesmen and merchants of 
Papeetee, she finds difficulty in getting trusted before her pension 
falls due. Still, with all her foibles, she was universally acknow- 
ledged to be a woman of strong sense and character, adored by 
her subjects, and respected by foreigners. 

After idling an hour with a few of the young ladies of the court, 
who were making preparations for their sovereign's reception, 
we left the Palace, and keeping along the shelly strand, passed 
through a sacred grove of iron-wood, whose gauze-like branches 
waved over the tombs of the ancient kings of Tahiti. There 
was naught to be seen, save heaps of mouldering coral ruins — 
thence crossing a point of the reef, which closed upon the beach, 
we reached one of many indentations of the Island, Matavai bay, 
and shortly afterwards came upon a native school-house. The 
building was large and dilapidated — the rush-laid floor was occu- 
pied with forms for the scholars, who were seated about in rows. 
Some of the girls had very pretty, attractive faces, and nearly all 
of both sexes wore around the brow and hair, chaplets of braid 
entwined with red and white flowers — orange or jessamine — having 
tasteful tassels of fresh blossoms hanging down behind the ear. 
They were not the most quiet school in the world, but applied to 
their tasks with great spirit and quickness. The teacher was an 
odd fish in his way — of the dwarf species — scarcely five feet in 
altitude — but from his peculiar build, he looked to me growing 
larger and larger every instant. The head was immense — hair 
white and cropped — the face expressed firmness-, benevolence and 
intelligence. His body and arms were those of a giant, while 
the lower limbs tapered away to nothing, half shrouded in blue 
tappa, and over all he wore a flowing, yellow shirt. 



406 ' CHAPTER XLIX. 



The roll was called, and I noticed a few urchins, who were 
tardy in arriving, whimpering, from which I surmised they were at 
times indulged with the bamboo. A hymn was sung in good 
time ; and although the girls had soft clear voices, there was little 
musical taste. In conclusion, an extemporaneous prayer was 
made — all kneeling — by a venerable native, who was afflicted, 
like many of his race, with elephantiasis. At the word u Amen," 
the little pupils gave a joyous whoop, and leaped pell-mell 
through the doorways. 

Returning by the Broom Roaa, which is never beyond a few 
yards from the sea, we paid a visit to another hencoop habitation, 
owning for its lord, Arupeii, brother to the Queen's last husband, 
and his wife a cousin to Pomaree herself. They were a fine- 
looking couple, and the chieftainess, with her pretty baby, struck 
me as particularly handsome. 

Dinner was preparing, and we passed the time pleasantly, 
lounging on mats, and smoking pipes. The first preparation for 
the feast was made by a plump girl, in an extremely brief petti- 
coat, who ascended a tree above our heads, and picked an armful 
of broad round leaves, which afterwards were used for a table- 
cloth. They were carefully lapped one upon the other in rows 
on the ground, and mats and low stools placed near them. The 
girl, whom we christened Jack, from a peculiar roll in her gait, 
assisted by two more attendants, ranged a close platoon of 
youthful cocoanuts, with mouths open like lids, along the centre 
of the board ; on either side were laid transparent shell goblets — 
the dark filled with sea-water and the light with fresh. Thus 
much for the table-service. Now came in on a huge wooden 
platter a baked pig, his dear little trotters, tail, and even to the 
extremity of his snout, crisped and browned most invitingly. In 



WE DINE WITH NOBILITY. 407 



a trice Jack twisted a brace of leaves around her fingers, seized 
the tempting grunter, and hey ! presto ! no articulator of anato- 
mical celebrity, no, not even the professional carver mentioned 
by Sir Walter, who dissected becaficos into such multitudes of 
morsels, could have more cunningly divided the dish, giving each 
of the company an equal share. Now came a stack of roasted 
bread-fruit. Jack, with gloves of more fresh leaves on her 
hands, peeled, halved, tore out the seeds, and tossed them from 
platter to table, with the dexterity of a juggler at his tricks. 
Then there came piles of taro, and snow-white yams ; heaps of 
oranges, and golden pineapples, with bunches of bananas in the 
offing. 

We were six at table, seated, a la Turque, on mats. The 
servants first handed shells of fresh water ; and, by the way, 
every one knows who invented steam-engines, playing-cards, and 
pin-making ; yet in the absence of positive information, I claim 
the finger-glass as of Tahitian origin, and wish it to be generally 
understood. Then falling to, and with a fragment of bread-fruit 
crushed within the hand, and a delicate bit of crisped pig dipped 
in salt-water, by way of castors, we munched and sucked our 
digits alternately, until the heavy edibles were well nigh con- 
sumed ; when laving again, dessert of fruits were distributed, the 
goblets once more went round, we rinsed our throats with cocoa- 
nut milk, and thus ended the feast. We had a chasse of pipes 
and brandy ; but this last was purely an innovation on a native 
dinner. 

Our comely hostess was treated with great deference and 
respect, none of the attendants presuming to sit in her presence ; 
indeed, we were entertained by distinguished nobs of the true 
Tahitian nobility, and all was maitai. Previous to the repast, 



40S ' CHAPTER XLIII 



we had dispatched a courier on horseback to the Port for wine, 
and, before dark, he returned, with but the breakage of a single 
bottle, and somewhat inebriated — -so we judged he had broken 
the vessel after tasting the contents ; but the matter was not 
satisfactorily proven ; there was still abundance, and the cups 
circulated freely. 

The pretty chieftainess smiled, the baby took a sip and crowed 
like a chicken. Arupeii facing me, cross-legged, laughed out- 
right, and related by signs, and a few words I could comprehend, 
many reminiscences of war and battles — ships of war and their 
commanders, with unpronounceable names — all of whom, I assured 
him, were my intimate friends and near relations. 

Later in the evening, we walked to a running stream hard by, 
and, with the full moon above us, and while 

'' Hesper, the star with amorous eye, 
Shot his fine sparkle from the deep blue sky," 

twinkling over the grotesque heights of Aimeo, the air laden with 
the odor of orange and jessamine, we waded into the brook, and 
diverted ourselves by plashing water upon a group of maids of 
honor who had followed us. 

Before we knew it, a heavy black cloud had stolen from the 
shade of the high mountains, and we had barely time to snatct 
our garments from the grass and scamper through the grove, 
before the rain was upon us : it passed as quickly — the wine was 
exhausted — the chieftainess presented me with a shell goblet, and 
bidding good night to our noble entertainers we were escorted to 
the palace of Pomaree, where the chief in waiting had large fine 
mats laid for couches, curtained by rolls of tappa, and with the 
moonlight glancing on the foaming reef, visible through the cage- 



WE SLEEP AT PAPOA. 409 

built house, and the water rippling on the sandy shore, we betook 
ourselves to rest. Our repose was shortly disturbed by a regi- 
ment of juveniles who marched before the palace, chaunting, 
witl^ great vociferation, the Marseilles hymn, giving the word 
"battalion" in full chorus; then, much to our astonishment, 
they struck up " Jim along, Josey," and concluded the opera 
with " Dan Tucker," set to native words. At this stage of the 
concert, our host, by request, made a few remarks, and the per- 
formers vanished. 

Fleas were excessively troublesome, and, during the night, to 
get rid of the annoyance, we had several clips in the lagoon, 
which was an easy matter, since the water was nearly at the foot 
of our couches. Once I was on the point of shifting my bed of 
mats to the beach, under a clump of cocoanuts, but our host 
would not hear of it — declaring it was ita maitai! ita maitai! — 
impossible ! not good ! Indeed I afterwards found the practice 
was never indulged in by the natives — for should one of these 
heavy nuts — and they are very large — many containing a full 
quart of milk, to say nothing of the weight of shell and husk — 
falling from an elevation of nigh an hundred feet, chance to alight 
on the cocoanut of the sleeper, it is reasonable to suppose it 
would damage his ideas or slumber : besides, large rats ascend the 
trees, and sometimes detach the fruit, while knawing into the 
tender nut : crabs, too, the sagacious creatures, crawl up the 
trunks whose branches incline over the rocky shores, cut the stem 
with their claws, and the concussion attending the fall splits them 
wide open, or cracks them ready for eating. I never saw them 
at these pranks, but have the information from reliable authority. 
As the daylight guns from the Port of Papeetee came booming 
and echoing among the mountains, we sprang to our feet, swal- 
18 



410 - CHAPTER XLIX. 



lowed a cooling draught of cocoanut milk, enjoyed another bathe 
in the stream, and then trudged gaily back to town. 

A few days later, we were visited by our hospitable friend, 
Arupeii ! He was shown every attention, and, at the usual hour, 
placed his heels under the gun-room mahogany. He dispensed 
with forks, and ate indiscriminately of viands, vegetables, and 
other dainties ; occasionally storing away bits of bread and ham 
in the flowing bosom of his shirt, for, no doubt, a more convenient 
season. He never let a bottle pass him, either of port, sherry, or 
malt, appreciating brandy most, and having a fancy for drinking 
all from tumblers. With these little solecisms, he got on famously, 
and, at the termination of the dinner, patted his portly person 
and shouted maitai. 

I do not know whether it be considered with the Tahitian aris- 
tocracy complimentary to covet a neighbor's goods, but certainly 
my stout chieftain was the most shameless beggar I ever remem- 
bered to have any dealings with. He volunteered to accejDt hat- 
bands, plugs of tobacco, sealing wax, pistols, newspapers, any- 
thing and everything he saw, until, at the end of the third glass 
of strong waters after dinner, he requested, as a particular favor, 
the mess candlesticks, when, losing all patience, I told him his 
boat was waiting, so he hitched up his trousers, offered to rub 
noses, and with a present for his handsome wife stowed in the 
capacious shirt, we shook hands, and away he paddled on shore. 
This was the last we saw of Arupeii. 

The frigate was always, Sundays excepted, surrounded by canoes 
filled with the natives, and they must have made a golden har- 
vest, to judge from the immense quantities of fruits constantly 
coming over the gangways — so great was the demand for cocoa- 
nuts, that they were rafted off from the shore in strings, like 






ISLET OF MOTUUATA. 411 



water-casks. The canoes were awkwardly hewn out of rough 
logs, with ill-arranged, misshapen outriggers ; quite unlike the 
buoyant, swift little water vehicles of the Sandwich Islanders. 

One day, attended by a tidy little reefer, we hired a clumsy, 
crazy equipage, with a copper and indigo-colored monster in the 
stern to paddle us about the reef and harbor. It was low water, and 
as our canoe drew but an inch or two of water outside — she was 
half-full inside — we were able to skim over the shallowest parts ; 
and, by the by, there is a strange anomaly in the tides of Papee- 
tee, which are not in the least influenced by the moon — there are 
many ways of accounting for it — I only speak of the fact — we 
ever found a full sea at twelve, and low water at six. 

In many places, a few feet below the surface, we glided over 
what seemed the most exquisite submarine flower-gardens, corals 
of all colors, and of every imaginable shape — plant, sprig, and 
branching antlers — of purple, blue, white, and yellow — variegated 
star and shell fish, and narrow clear blue chasms and fissures of 
unfathomable depths between ; but what was equally beautiful to 
behold, schools of superbly-colored fishes swimming and darting 
about in the high blue rollers as raising their snowy crests just 
before breaking upon the outer wall of the reef, the finny tribes 
were held in a transparent medium, like that seen through a 
crystal vase. 

A heavy shower interrupted our aquatic researches, and we 
sought shelter on Pomaree's diminutive island of Motuuata. It 
hardly covers an acre, but is a most charming retreat beneath the 
drooping foliage, and I did not wonder at the jolly queen's taste. 
She never goes there now : the Frames were busy with pick and 
barrow on parapet and bastion ; blacksmiths and artizans were 
hammering away at the forges, and, beneath the trees and sheds. 



412 CHAPTER XLIX. 



soldiers and sailors were munching long rolls of bread and drink- 
ing red wine. Who can wonder that the poor Queen has for- 
saken her former haunts, when her cane-built villas are polluted 
by foreign tread, and the weeping groves that sheltered her 
troops of languishing revellers, the " cushions of whose palms" 
had clasped the smooth trunks of all— where merriment, games, 
feast, and wassail went on unceasingly, in all the native abandon- 
ment of island life and pleasure ; now to have those scenes 
so changed by red-breeched Frames — the shelly shores tossed 
with stone and mortar into embankments for dreaded cannon, and 
the grove resounding with stunning sound of hammer and anvil. 
Alas ! poor Pomaree ! recall the bright days of your girlhood, 
and curse the hour when you invited the stranger to your king- 
dom. 



CHAPTER L. 

Early one morning the Governor and myself left the ship at 
gunfire, for a pic-nic among the mountains. We met with no 
more serious adventure in our transit from the frigate to the beach, 
than the capsizing a barrel of bread, by our stupid Italian valet, 
belonging to the baker's bumboat, in which we had been kindly 
offered a passage to the shore. The loaves went floating all about 
the harbor, and we were some minutes rescuing the manna from 
Neptune's pocket. Without further mishap we went straight to 
the domicile of an English gentleman, who had politely planned 
the party. All was prepared, and we set off as the troops of the 
garrison were filing into the parade ground for weekly review, 
and a very creditable and soldierly appearance they presented. 

We made quite a respectable battalion ourselves, so far as 
numerical force went. In advance trotted a vigorous taata, with 
a couple of large, native baskets slung by a pole over his shoul- 
ders, loaded with bottles and provender ; at his heels, our own 
unfortunate esquire, Giacomo. The Governor, our English friend 
and myself, constituted the main body, and the rear guard was 
composed of three laughter-loving damsels — straight and tall — 
with an easy grace of motion, like willows. One was housekeeper 
to our friend, and the most beautiful woman in face and form we 



414 CHAPTER L. 



had seen in all the islands. Her figure was lithe and clear as an 
antelope — hands and feet small, with arms that would have made 
Canova start in his dreams. The face was full of sweetness and 
expression — eyes soft, full and dark — the mouth and chin large 
and rounded — with even, white teeth, and long, glossy-black 
tresses. Her name was Teina, and it had as pretty a sound 
as the euphonious ita ita, the Tahitians pronounce so melodiously. 
The other maidens were Teina's companions, who, having no 
engagements on hand, accompanied us as volunteers, or light 
troops. We tramped blithely along the Broom Road, whilst the 
delicious strains from the brass band went sailing up hill and grove. 
Between the radiating mountain-ridges of Tahiti, which diverge 
from the longitudinal core of the summit, there are many frightful 
precipices — awful splits in the bosom of the earth — narrow, 
gloomy and deep, that hang frowningly over the sombre, turbu- 
lent torrents of waters that spring from the misty faces of the 
upper heights. Our route led up one of them. Turning up a 
broad valley, we followed the course of a rapid stream, crossing 
and re-crossing where rocks of the adjacent heights became too 
precipitous to admit a pathway ; and to save time and unnecessary 
trouble, we were either ferried over on the shoulders of our taata 
convoy, breasting the foaming surge, or once or twice I was 
mounted on one of the native damsels — Miss Toanni — who kindly 
offered her services. I blush for my want of gallantry, but trust 
it was in a measure redeemed by holding her drapery from the 
water during the several wadings. She wore for head-dress a 
broad straw hat with fluttering ribbons — a figured gingham sac, 
plaited and buttoned to the throat, fell loosely over a white under- 
tunic — and demi-pantaletts reached below the knees, where the 
costume terminated by open-worked, indigo stockings, that would 



MOUNTAIN FORTRESS. 415 



bear washing — while her fingers were covered with indelible blue 
rings, of the same material as the hose. 

There is very little tatooing among the Tahitians — a few leggings 
— blue devices about the neck — rings on fingers or toes, but never 
a mark on the face. As civilization advances, they acquire a 
distaste for these heathenish skin-paintings. However, I must 
not lose sight of Toanni. She had a firm, well-knit frame — wide 
mouth, fine, brilliant teeth, intended for service — such as cracking 
flinty ship-biscuits, or wrenching husks from cocoanuts — large, 
mirthsome, dark eyes, with but one flaw to their beauty, which 
she enjoyed alike with all the Pacific Islanders — the whites of the 
eyes were yellow ! Such was Toanni. 

Occasionally, when resting within the close shade of the valley, 
if the bright eyes of the girls detected the sunny bulbs of papao 
gleaming through the surrounding foliage, off they sprang for the 
fruit, or climbed the vai for apples, or pretty flowers clustering 
about the lower branches, which were soon turned into wreaths 
or necklaces. 

Advancing inland, the lateral valleys converged into one deep 
gorge, closing perpendicularly on either hand ; and further on, 
the stream itself was cut off by a bold, transverse acclivity be- 
tween the two sides, like a wall of masonry, more than half 
way up the lofty shafts that framed the gorge. From this shelf, 
more than a thousand feet above us, there came leaping a thin 
thread of water — but long before reaching the base of the grassy 
barrier, it was diffused in showers of spray, and poured its spark- 
ling tribute into the deep chasms of the valley. 

Leaving the lower bed of the stream, we began mounting 
upward by a zig-zag pathway, cut lately by the French on 
the flat, sheer face of the mountain. It was at this point, 



416 CHAPTER L. 



where at an immense height above, the Tahitlans had poised 
vast masses of rocks, with levers ready pointed, to hurl 
death and destruction on the adventurous soldiers who should 
dare to attack their stronghold. The natives were posted at the 
head of the pass, upon an acclivity, with no other approach from 
below than a crumbling goat-path, where the road now leads. 
They were well provided with arms and ammunition, cartridges 
charged at both ends, to prevent mistakes, and kindly furnished, 
it is said, by foreign ships of war in port at the time. Indeed, the 
French during the last year of the war, were harrassed night and 
day. Alarm-fires were blazing on every hill, feints were made 
upon the town, and the neighboring posts, until the troops 
became worn out, and more than half ill in hospital. Nor were 
the French so successful in their different engagements as the 
superior arms and discipline of trained soldiers would imply ; for 
in one affair at Ta-a-a-a, they had fifty slain. 

Thus the Tahitians, believing themselves invincible, after a 
thirteen month's seige, were at last dislodged through the con- 
nivance of a traitor, who guided their enemies up a narrow ravine, 
when, after surmounting almost inaccessible precipices, by the aid 
of scaling-ladders and ropes, they succeeded in attaining a foot- 
hold on a sharp spur of the peaks above the pass, and then rushing 
down completely surprised and captured the native camp. To 
the humanity of the French be it said, every soul was spared. 
This was the last struggle : tired of subsisting on roots and 
berries, enveloped in mists and rain, the natives sighing once 
more for their smiling homes by the sea-side, surrendered in 
December, 1846. 

In the great losses sustained by the French in this warfare, 
it struck us very forcibly that there must have been great igno- 



MADEM OF FATOAR, 417 



ranee and inexperience in the knowledge of what we call bush- 
fighting. The Tahitians do not compare with the North American 1 
Indian in either courage, hardihood, or sagacity ; and without any 
disparagement to French valor or gallantry, in our innocence 
we sincerely believed that two hundred of our back-woodsmen 
would have hunted every copper-colored warrior into the ocean. 

After a toilsome struggle we gained the lateral ridge that joined 
the two acclivities, and entered an artificial aperture, cut through 
the rocks, which was the portal to the native fortress. 

The well-defined diadem of Fatoar rose in clear relief against 
the blue sky above our heads, and looking around we were in the 
midst of a multitude of gullies and ravines, with the bed of the 
same rivulet we had left below rolling rapidly at our feet towards 
its fearful plunge in a gap of the precipice. A number of wicker- 
basket osier-built huts for soldiers were perched about the 
elevations ; the vegetation was rich and beautiful, wherever a 
foot of soil gave nourishment ; and there were little gardens, 
too, with many kinds of vegetables, irrigated by narrow aque 
ducts, formed by gutters of canes or bamboos, and fed from 
adjacent springs. 

The scenery was quite Swiss, could we change tropical suns, 
running streams, and unceasing verdure into frosts, glaciers, and 
avalanches. But yet it was a romantic solitude, despite the 
remark of the French officer in command, who assured me, with 
a most expressive gesture, that it was terriblement mauvais. 

We continued our walk some distance beyond the fort, and 

coming to a shaded, smooth tier of rocks, where the stream was 

bubbling noisily along, with little sleeping pools half hidden amid 

the crags, and opposite a pointed slender peak like a fishing-rod — 

well nigh punching a hole in the blue expanse of heaven — we 
18* 



418 CHAPTER L. 



spread our rural banquet on the rocky table, plunged the bottles In 
the icy water, and then reclined luxuriously around, with full 
resolve to do justice to the feast, incited by our long tramp and 
fast. 

i: Flow of wine, and flight cf cork. 
Stroke of knife, and thrust of fork ; 
But, where'er the board was spread, 
Grace, I ween, was never said." 

Wings of chickens, slices of ham, roasted bananas, huge loaves of 
bread, preserved fish, and cups of wine disappeared with mar- 
vellous rapidity. We did all rational beings could be expected 
to perform under the circumstances, but at last were obliged to cry 
peccavi ! Not so our lady guests — the war of maids and viands had 
only begun ; my friend, Toanni, thought a trifle of taking five or 
six of these oily little sardines at a mouthful, pushing them dowr. 
with half a banana, and violent thrust of bread. She devoured 
ham and fowls with great apparent relish, wagging her lower jaw, 
to detach any stray masses of unmasticated matter that chanced 
to have escaped the ivory hopper, and fallen between her 
capacious cheeks ; every few seconds giving her round fingers 
a sharp suck, like popping a cork. Truely Toanni's head room 
was enormous. Once or twice, when thinking her rage entirely 
appeased, she relapsed again, and performed prodigies with 
rashers of baked pig. I believe it was Voltaire who designated 
the illustrious Shakspeare as a " sublime barbarian ; " could he 
have seen these island maidens, he certainly would have awarded 
the palm to Toanni ; and I '11 wager a flask of bordeaux — a 
peculiar weakness of mine — that these Tahitian belles can eat 
more, laugh longer, talk faster, all at cnce or separately, 
than any others of their adorable sex the wide world over. I 



GIELS OF TAHITL 419 



speak advisedly, and am prepared by documentary e ndence to 
prove it. 

Rescuing a small cruse of cogniac from the melee, I reclined 
upon a rocky bed, with my heels in the water, for a doze, induced 
by the soothing fumes of a pipe ! But, alas ! hardly were my eyes 
closed, before I was startled by the cries of our frolicksome 
light-hearted companions, who with a lizard-like facility of 
grasp, were running up the perpendicular surface of the peak, 
clinging and climbing by fibres and roots, that crept and laced 
themselves about the crevices of the rocks. Plucking a quantity 
of bright flowers, the girls bounded into the stream, and then 
commenced weaving never-ending wreaths and chaplets. This 
universal fondness for these spontaneous jewels of the earth, 
with their love for bathing, are the most innocent and beautiful 
natural tastes possessed by the savages of Polynesia. 

We were three hours getting back to Papeetee, only pausing for 
a last cooling swim in the lower stream. 

The evening previous to our departure from Tahiti we 
attended the usual soiree of the French Governor. Important 
despatches had just been received from France, and the saloons 
were filled at an early hour with officers of the ships and 
garrison, consuls, and merchants, with a number of foreign 
ladies, all in grand tenu. It was a pleasant gay little court, with 
ecarte tables and conversation, vivacious punch handed round at 
intervals, and maybe a little flirting and love-making, with 
a music to fill up the pauses," from the regimental orchestras 
stationed near the verandas, while the lawns and grounds were 
crowded by laughing groups of natives, talking scandal, perhaps, 
of the oui-ouih. 

The next morning, before day had dawned, our frigate was 



420 CHAPTER L. 



crowded with canvas, and assisted by a flotilla of boats from the 
French squadron, we were quietly towed outside the coral reef, 
then taking the trade on the quarter, Ave went off with a spanking 
breeze towards Ainieo. 



CHAPTER LI . 

With easterly winds we sailed away to the southward. In a 
fortnight the sky became dull and gloomy — the rain fell, chill 
and cold — we tumbled from our warm beds with a shock into the 
cold air, for we had been a long time beneath the clear skies and 
warm suns of the tropics, and rather magnified our hardships, in a 
thermometrical sense. 

Still we were bound once more to the realms of civilization, 
which was in itself consoling — we buttoned our jackets — declared it 
was fine dumb-bell weather, and exercised those implements con- 
stantly. Doctor Faustus, too, lighted his jovial lamp when the 
night closed around us, and we blew the steam from a tumbler 
of Italia punch with much thankfulness and gusto ; and those 
of us who had watches, forthwith bent our steps to the upper 
regions. 

One cold November night, in a hard squall, whilst the topmen 
were furling the lofty sails, two men were hurled from the main- 
top-gallant yard, and falling through the lubber's hole of the top, 
were caught at the junction of the futtock shrouds. One escaped 
with severe injuries, but his unfortunate companion died in thirty 
minutes. He was a handsome, active, young fellow, who made 
my acquaintance during the blockade of Mazatlan, in old Jack's 
oyster-boat. 



422 CHAPTER LI. 



In speaking of the accident, the day after, to an old Swedish 
quarter-gunner, called Borlan — u Vy, sir," said he, pulling aside 
his huge whiskers and disclosing a broad, jagged seam, the whole 
length of the face — " Vy, sir, see here ! I vonce toombled vrom 
a brig's mast-head — top -gallant yard and all — lying to in a gale 
of vind. Veil, sir, I broke mine jaws and leg, but managed to 
get alongside again, and was hauled on bort. Veil, sir — vat you 
dink ? — the gott tarn skipper vanted to lick me for not bringing 
der yard too !" 

After making a latitude of 47° South, the East winds departed, 
and taking a gale from the opposite direction, we flew before it 
for eleven days at ten miles the hour towards the Chilian coast. 
Oh! what a "melancholy main" is this wide expanse of the 
Pacific ! There is, may be, in the feeling of being near continents 
or islands in less illimitable seas, something a little pleasurable ; 
but to be pursuing the same wearisome, liquid track, for weeks 
and weeks, with nothing to relieve the monotony of sky and 
water, is desolate, indeed ! 

In the long night-watches, when strong gusts of hail or rain 
were whistling by our ears — the top-sails reefed down, though 
quivering and struggling, like great birds with cramped pinions, 
to burst from the stout cordage and fly away in flakes of snow — 
the gallant ship would, like a mettled charger feeling the whip and 
spur, at times run lightly and swiftly on the back of a mighty wave, 
almost as silently, too, as if gliding on a lake — when, the instant 
after, heeling from side to side, she would dash down impetuously 
amid the tumult of waters, cleaving a wide road before her ! 

Mutter your last ave, Jack ! if you leave the strong ship in 
nights like these ! Think of the keen-sighted albatross that will 
pick your eyes out next morning, if the keener-scented shark has 



THE GBEAT PACIFIC. 423 



not already rasped and grated your bones into white splinters 
within his merciless jaws ! Keep close under shdter of the solid 
bulwarks, Jack ! Cling to your life-lines ! Feel a rope twice 
aloft before you swing your full weight upon it ! but hold on, 
Jack! Hold on! 

Think of it, ye rich traders, when your big ships come gallantly 
into port. Think of the hands that have strained and grasped 
upon those lofty spars that now so motionless lift their taper 
heads, like needle-points, to the sky. Think of the cold sleet 
and chilling rain — but above all, think of poor Jack — take pity 
on his faults, and extend the helping hand in his distress. 

There was my old marine oracle, Harry Greenfield, muffled in 
his pea-coat, braged firmly against the fife-rail, over the wheel, 
every now and then slowly twisting his rosy face around the 
stern, taking a glance through half-closed eyelids at the angry 
scud flying overhead, or during a rapid succession of heavy 
lurches, when the high masts appeared to describe three-fourths of 
a circle against the gloomy sky, he would pleasantly hint to the 
briny forecastle-man who grasped the steering spokes, or the old 
quartermaster at^he compass, "Steady, old Tom Scofield! Not 
so much, boys ! Touch her lightly, Charley ! don't you see she's 
flying off?" — and again relapse within the folds of his pea-jacket. 

u Well, old gentleman, what are you pondering on ?" " Why, 
Mr. Blank, I'm thinking how pleasant it must be to have a mena- 
gerie on board ship in a breeze like this ; in case the animals 
should break loose, the tigers, bears, hyenas, and the elephant, 
and the monkeys flying around the decks in heaps, yelling, howl- 
ing, and fighting together ! Ah ! it must be a fine sight on a 
dark night, with a lantern up the main rigging. I never sailed 
with any of them chaps, 'cept once — he was a royal Bengal tiger — 



424 CHAPTER LI. 



all ! I made a good bit of money out of him — he had a difficulty 
with the cook — ." Here the old salt went into a series cf chuckles, 
and I was forced to beg him to proceed. Emptying his mouth 
of the grateful weed, and- wringing the sleet from his weather* 
beaten beard, he continued : " You remember Jim Hughes, Mr. 
Blank, the captain of the old ship's foretop." I nodded. u Well, 
I fell in with Jim one day in Greenock ; he was just from Orleans, 
with a pouch full of cash, for he had been there in the height of 
the cholera season, and bagged twenty dollars a day for driving 
the dead cart." Here old Harry chuckled again. " Well, sir, 
Jim was Scotch, and among his people, and very decent they 
were ; they treated me all the same for being his shipmate. Well, 
after a time a brig was ready for sea ; Jirn was taken as 
second mate, and me as bo'sun. We were bound to Calcutta ; 
off Java Head the first mate kicked the bucket, was tossed over- 
board, Jim was promoted, for he had larnin', and I stepped into 
his shoes." Another chuckle. "We staid in Calcutta five 
months, taking in rice, cotton, indigo, and other products of them 
countries, when, just before sailing, there came on board the tiger, 
a present for the King of England ! A noble beast he was : a 
big strong iron front cage was built for him abaft the mainmast / 
and he never once stopped licking his white tusks, gaping, walk- 
ing, and lashing his rope of a tail, for weeks and weeks after 
leaving the river. We all began to take a fancy to him, and I 
believe he did for us, 'cept the cook, who was a Nubian nigger, 
and black all the way down his throat. I never see such an 
intense darkey ! His royal tigership never could bear the sight 
of him, probably because he had been trepanned by some, of the 
nigger race ; and whenever i Lamp Black,' that was his name, 
came near, his eyes kindled like live coals, and he growled from 



DIFFICULTY WITH THE COOK. 425 

the bottom of his belly. We often cautioned cookey to be care*, 
ful, and so he was. Well, we touched at Saint Helena, and right 
glad old Bengal was, no doubt, for we had got short of chickens — 
— the only delicacies he seemed to relish — and he couldn't be 
coaxed to touch salt junk. A few days after, the Nubian was 
handing him his breakfast, with the galley tormentors, a pair of 
tongs like, through the small trap door on top of the cage, and, 
like a fool, he just took one little peep, to see how tenderly the 
tiger could suck the last drop of blood from a chicken's body, 
when, by one rapid blow of his paw, he sunk his sinewy claws 
into the darkey's neck, tore the head from the trunk, and in a 
second was crunching the reeking mass between his grinders. 
He scoffed bones, wool, and flesh, and there lay the remains of 
poor ' Lamp Black' quivering on the red decks. After this little 
difficulty, he became quite civil and civilized, and never caused 
us more trouble. By and by, we arrived in London docks, and 
as they were a good while preparing a birth for him in the Zoolo- 
gical gardens, Jim and me exhibited him from a ha'penny to half- 
a-crown, to men, women, and children. So you see, sir, we made 
nigh forty pounds a piece, and had a capital spree, I tell ye." 
Old Harry nearly choked, and did not thoroughly recover until 
his throat had been cleared with a glass of grog. 

Thirty-six days from Tahiti, and we arrived in Valparaiso. 
Remaining in port nearly a month, the anchor was again weighed, 
and our prow again turned seaward. Passing the Point of 
Angels, the burnished keel bravely ploughed the open ocean, 
the blue waves following in snowy crests, and, in a few siinutes, 
shores, town and hills had faded from sight. 



CHAPTER LII. 

The 28th of January, 1849, found us on the Peruvian coast, 
abreast the Island of San Lorenzo, a mountain of sand, where not 
a blade of grass can vegetate ; and rounding Galera Cape, we 
were shortly moored in the port of Callao. 

The bay is a wide, sweeping indentation, with Lorenzo, Fronton, 
and a narrow spit of land jutting from the main, serving to keep 
the harbor smooth from prevailing southerly winds. To the north, 
the spurs of the Andes approach layer upon layer to the brink of 
the coast, while nearer the land trends away, towards the 
interior, nearly plain-like — green, fertile, and pleasant to gaze 
upon — with the clustering towers, and spires of Lima abutting on 
the distant hills. 

There is no difference of opinion about Callao : for it is a filthy, 
bustling little port, reeking in garlic and drunken mariners, alive 
with fleas, miserable, dirty soldiers, and their yet more slovenly 
wives. 

The place is thriving, for steam frequents it ; and on the 
curving quay are piled mountains of English coals, enormous 
heaps of wheat, great stacks of pisco, and italia jars, where 
Haserac, the celebrated captain, might have concealed an army 
of thieves with impunity. Merchandise moves backwards and 
forwards on railway trucks, and lazy villains in pale yellow 



CITADEL OF CALLAO. 427 



jackets, with iron chains and anklets attached to the legs, are at 
work after a fashion of their own. 

The houses of the port are mean and irregular, built anywhere 
and any how, either of adobies, boards, and on the outskirts, plea- 
sant cottage residences, built of bullocks' hides and poles. Streets 
and lanes run hither and thither, and glaring English signs stare 
you in the face, such as the " Jibbooni House," " The Lively 
Pig," " Jackknife Corner," and " House of Blazes." Along the 
beach are ranges of wicker, reed, and mat-made sheds for 
bathing, which are thronged during the season. But the most 
prominent features of Callao that attract the eye, are the round, 
flat turrets of the Castle, flanked on either side by long lines of 
curtains, bastions, embrasures, and batteries. It covers a great 
space, enclosing within its thick and massive case-mated walls, 
ranges of barracks — now happily converted into warehouses for 
the customs — magazines, and a large square, with a fountain in 
the centre. The fortification, from the nature of its position, is 
somewhat irregular, constructed partly on a ridge of sand, leading 
towards the southern arm of the bay, where in former times was 
the site of old Callao, before its destruction by the memorable 
earthquake of 1746. 

There is a wide, deep moat, like to the bed of a river, encircling 
the fortress, with narrow channels cut on either side to the sea. 
This is now dry and partially filled in nearest the town. The 
redoubts and detached outworks are also in ruins, but yet enough 
remains to make us reflect, that what the old Spanish engineers 
left incomplete in this work would hardly be worth attempting in 
our day. 

It was here where the last stand of the Royalists was made in 
New Spain — where the bloodiest foot-prints were left since the 



428 CHAPTER LII. 



days of the Incas and Pizarro — and it was in this same castle, where 
the brave Rodil, with a handful of devoted followers, clung to the 
soil of their royal master with a tenacity and determination 
amounting to heroism — where horse meat sold for a gold ounce 
the pound, and a chicken for its weight in the same precious metal : 
when, hemmed in on all sides, by sea and land — surrounded but 
not dismayed — they still kept their assailants at bay, until gaunt 
famine stalked before them, and they were forced to furl the well- 
worn colors of their King!* A score of Rodils, and another 
century might have intervened before South American patriots 
could have wrested the continent from the old Spaniards. 

If tired of contemplating these bloody reminiscences — or bath- 
ing under the sheds and awnings, where all resemble, in their 
saturated black frocks and trowsers, watery nuns ; or if your temper 
is destroyed by the fleas, you can fly to the harbor, where are sturdy 
merchantmen reeking in guano, smoking steamers, and heavy 
ships of war — and thick fogs at night — or, what is more divert- 
ing, you may watch the motions of swarms of gulls that frequent 
the Port. Our good surgeon, who professed to be an ornitholo- 
gist, called them platoon birds. They fly in regular battalions 
and divisions, in strict military apportionments — led and appa- 
rently commanded by their chieftains. The reviews generally 
began with fishing. At some understood, feathery signal, while 
sailing over the bay, they wheel like a flash, and strike the water 
simultaneously like a shower of bullets, and not with the eyes of 
Argus is it possible to detect the smallest irregularity in move- 
ment, nor a stray winged soldier out of the ranks. 

However, all these amusements are, at best, dull recreation, and 

* In February, 1826. 



CITY OF LIMA. 429 



it is a great relief to get quit of Callao. Oninibii encumber the 
uttermost ends of the earth — so we go to the office, when the 
smiling administrador behind a railing exclaims, " Ah! Cajpitan ! 
you want ascientos I Ah ! you give me one Spanish dollar — ah ! 
hweno!" "Any thieves?" we timidly ask. cc Ah y si, yes; but 
you give him gold ounce — no kill you, ah !" " Charming fellows, 
certainly; but suppose we give him an ounce of some other 
metal !" Ah I cuidado ami go ! — have a care, my friend ! 

With five horses ahead, crack ! crack ! goes the thong of the 
negro Jehu — over the paved street, into the dusty road, where 
the plunging steeds are brought up floundering, tugging and 
straining the heavy vehicle axle, through the finely powdered 
soil — now firmly stalled, we get out per force, curse the roads, 
and threaten to whip the driver — then we come on harder ground, 
until imperceptibly there comes a rocky strata — loose stones, 
remains of adobie walls and ditches — but all equally execrable : 
then, for a mile or more, fine trees bend their towering arms 
over the road, and shortly after, we rattle through a huge gate- 
way — have travelled eight miles, and we are in the city of kings — 
Lima ! " See it and die," said the old land pirates of the days of 
its founder, Pizarro, and their descendants. Whatever it may 
have been two centuries ago, in these days it requires no very 
strong effort of will to survive the sight. 

The city is compact and populous, the buildings are very low, 
and quite resemble the old Moriscan towns along the northern 
shores of Africa, with close overhanging jalousies and balconies, 
finely railed and latticed. The streets are wide and straight, 
paved with small pebbles — dreadfully torturing to the pedestrian 
— the side-walks beneath the portals or arcades of the plazas ; 
and in the gateways and patios of dwellings are figured in coarse 



430 CHAPTER LIT. 



mosaic, formed by the white knuckle-bones of sheep and pebbles 
Handsome shops fringe the fashionable avenues, glittering with 
costly fabrics and toys ; then again packed side by side, in 
nooks, alcoves, and niches, are small merchants, who from 
their numbers, one would suppose to be all sellers and no 
buyers. 

The little river Rimac flows noisily through the city, fed from 
far away by the silvered pinnacles of snows and ice in the lofty 
Andes. It is spanned by a substantial and lofty bridge, whose 
every stone has been loosened by the earthquake. Lima might 
be made one of the cleanest cities in the world ; for through all 
the main arteries runs a narrow rivulet diverted from the Rimac. 
Nevertheless, it is excessively filthy, and the gallianzos, or 
vultures, tame, and pampered by a profusion of nastiness and 
offal, take their morning's meal in the streets and squares, and 
afterwards hobble to the house-tops, where, with blood-red eyes, 
and gorged bodies, they calmly endure repletion. 

The most striking features upon approaching the city are the 
vast clusters of domes, towers, and spires, that arise in such 
thick profusion from the convents and churches, as to favor the 
belief that every house has something of the kind attached 
thereto. From the neighboring valley of Almencaes I have 
counted sixty. In the distance they present a solid, imposing 
aspect, but on a nearer view, they will generally be found mere 
paper structures of reeds and plaster. Many of the grand edifices, 
the cathedral, convents, and parochial churches, are partly of 
bricks, stone, or the most enormous adobies, up to the belfreys, 
but above, all are similar to the pasteboard decorations of the 
theatre ; and although it seems reasonable to suppose they would 
topple down at the first summons of the tremllor, yet it is the 



TOWER OF SAN DOMINGO. 431 



only style of lofty work that will bear the frequent shocks, totter 
like a tree, and still stand erect. Externally these buildings are 
elaborately carved, painted, and imaged, without any consistent 
order of architecture ; and within they are profusely decorated with 
rich gildings, paintings, and statues ; all, however, destitute of taste ; 
and only when brilliantly illuminated, with the myriads of silken 
parti-colored streamers pendant and fluttering from the lofty aisles, 
swinging censers, organs pealing, with all the pomp and im- 
posing ceremony of the Catholic church, is the effect worthy of 
admiration. 

The best position for viewing Lima — Asmodeus-like — is from 
the high tower of San Domingo, that is, if, after mounting above 
the bells, you can reconcile the flimsy quaking fabric you stand 
upon to any extreme ideas of personal safety. The devil on this 
pair of sticks could not have chosen a more eligible spot for 
inspecting the arcana of people's dwellings. The city is spread like 
a map at your feet ; composed of long lines of crumbling walls, miles 
of flat roofs, and little patios, the former loosely tiled, and sprinkled 
over with dirt, where even dead cats, and tattered rags quietly 
repose for ages. There is not in the universe to be seen such a 
large area of mud walls, reed, and rush-built houses, all appearing 
so unfinished and incomplete. But in a climate where it never 
rains, where it never blows, where even the thick coatings of dust 
are hardly absorbed by the dry rain of winter fogs, it is not 
surprising that all these masses of reeds and plaster are preserved 
for centuries without perceptible decay. Still there can be no 
scepticism on one point, that if ever there chance to fall a heavy 
tropical shower, the city of Pizarro will be swept, a heap of mud 
and sticks, into the ocean. 

Allowing the eyes to wander around and beyond the city, the 



432 CHAPTER ML 



discolored Riinac is seen hurrying from the melting oosom of its 
Alpine mother down between the distant hills, diffusing its fertil- 
izing freshness over the sloping valley — the margins encircled by 
verdant fields of cane, like bright patches of emeralds, and the 
banks fringed by weeping willows, that dip their bending branches 
to kiss the rapid torrent. On it comes, over the stony bed, dash- 
ing its strength in fierce anger against the arches of the sturdy 
bridge, and then glancing by the flowering meads and slopes of 
Almencaes, flies rapidly to the placid waves of the Pacific. 



CHAPTER LIII 

Lima is fast losing its singular originality, although there is 
still much to be seen, which, in these days of universal journey- 
ings, has the merit of being extremely novel. 

There are interminable strings of mules and donkeys constantly 
passing and repassing to the bubbling fountains of plazas or 
churches, each with twin reservoirs of water-barrels balanced on 
the brute's shoulders ; others with huge milk jugs, baker's boxes 
of hides, and the drivers in the midst. Again, matronly dames 
jog along astride their cattle, commonly nursing infants ; then 
gilded volantes and berlinas whirl by, occupied by damas in full 
dress, looking as if entombed within crystal shades ; then priests 
in " cope and stole" in processions — white and black gowned 
ones — tottering bishops in lawn and mitre, and very shaky on 
their swollen ancles, with beads vibrating like uneasy pendu- 
lums ; others in stove-pipe hats, sleek, fat, and slovenly — or meek 
friars — not of eggs and bacon, from their meagre, famished 
appearance — lank and dirty, with robes of coarse serge and girdles 
of ropes — all darkening the side walks, with flickering torch an3 
taper flaring in the mid-day sun, and solemn chaunt, as they move 
unceasingly towards church or convent. 

Then, again, stupid, stunted native Indians strut along with 
bow legs and parrot step ; beside them, stout negresses, zambos, 
19 



434 CHAPTER LIII. 



and cholos, with brief frocks, and the most gossamer of flesh- 
colored silk stockings encasing their ebony shins ; there are portales 
thronged with shops and stalls — artizans in gold and silver embroi- 
dery carrying on their avocations, regardless of noise and bustle. 
Equestrians, too, are caracolling through streets and squares, 
clothed in bright ponchos, and their small, spirited steeds decked 
in shining trappings, with heavy Gothic-shaped spurs, half the 
weight of the riders. 

It is a curious scene to contemplate all this motley crowd, as 
the first sweet tone of the great bell of the cathedral — and the 
sweetest sound from brass and silver ever heard — gives forth its 
prolonged and melancholy cadence for oration. As if touched 
by the wand of a magician, the busy hum of life is hushed — mules 
and donkeys halt of their own accord, and with drooping ears 
and bended necks, appear absorbed in prayer. The man who is 
yelling Fresquita I with all his might, stops miraculously short at 
the half-uttered word in the highest note — venders and the disci- 
ples of Abraham cease barter — horsemen draw bridle — these gay 
berlinas pause, and their fair inmates with jewelled fingers tell 
their beads, and rosy lips arrest the dimpling smiles — lovers 
silence the soft whispers to blushing amantes — the whirr of loom 
and spindle weaving the golden threads is checked — hats and 
heads are borne low, and every vestige of animation is suspended — 
all is beautifully impressive. A minute I The ave is uttered — 
the heavy bell sounds twice — thrice — then the deafening and 
rejoicing peals ring from towers far and near. Crack ! falls the 
cruel lash on the devout donkey's hide — arre / shouts the arri- 
eros — quita! screams the dulce-man — Tres pesos el men or ! 
wheedles the Jew — off glide the gilded vehicles — away gallop 
capering barbs — the artisans resume the mazy windings of the 



SAYAS Y M ANT AS 435 



reel or shuttle — the lover and his mistress again become smiling 
and pathetic — and again goes on the roar and turmoil of a popu- 
lous town. 

On the right bank of the Rimac are two promenades, neither 
particularly well shaded, but the Alemeda nearest the river is most 
frequented and pleasant. 

During feast days, or after the Sunday bull-fights in the arena 
near at hand, it is customary for the elite of Lima to appear in full 
dress, enshrined within the glass panels of their pretty lerlinaSj 
and take a stand along the drive, beneath the drooping willows. 
Nor is it considered indecorous, if you have friends or acquaint- 
ances among those lovely dames 3 to doff your castor and touch the 
tips of their ungloved, rosy fingers, and may be, hear the number of 
their palco at the evening opera — or, where the tertulia is given, 
and what a charming bouquet it was you sent — and other agree- 
able pleasantries. Have a care, my gringo ! button your coat 
tight, or you may lose your heart ! 

On these occasions, also, the stone benches on either side the 
promenade are thronged with sayas y mantas — the most bewitch- 
ing satin envelope that ever woman, be she youthful or aged, 
was ever wrapped in. There is no resisting the large, brilliant, 
languishing eye — laughing with all its might^-nor the round, 
white arm, that so pertinaciously keeps the jealous folds of the 
manta over the face. Exhaust the whole Castilian vocabulary of 
compliments — and it is copious — beseeching and imploring to 
be vouchsafed one little word ! Ah Senorita ! haceme el favo? 
de una palabrita ! — do speak one little word. But no ! never a 
syllable from the silent veil, while the roguish eye twinkles and 
laughs like a planet ! They may know you — but the sharpest 
duefia that ever cheated or was bribed by a lover could not 



436 CHAPTER LIIL 



detect her charge within these closely-fitting dominoes — nor hus- 
band the wife, nor mother her daughter — they are alike en- 
shrouded in the same graceful but impenetrable black masque. 
They are so cunning and coquettish, too ! Fancy you discover 
one. Strive to awaken her jealousy, or pique her vanity by 
encomiums or scandal upon a sister or cousin — ten to one it comes 
back to you in protean shapes from the one you least dreamed of. 
Yet I cannot but think the institution was originally invented by 
ugly women ; and it appears, many of the fairestportions are of 
the same opinion, being generally quite willing to exhibit their 
charms of face as nature intended. Except on feast days, or in 
carnival, the dress is now rarely worn ; but in former years no 
woman appeared in street or mass without the saya y manta. 
In those days, intrigue was so rife that a prudent young 
bachelor was forced to keep a strict watch upon his morals, or 
have his heart forcibly abducted by these warm-blooded Limene- 
ans — those were the times to hold wicked husbands in consterna- 
tion, and set watchful duenas at defiance ! For a wonder, French 
taste and dress are rapidly reforming all. 

Some distance up the Rimac, near the Alemeda, is to be found 
the pleasantest place for bathing. Water is turned by narrow 
canals, and pours through a long range of enclosed and covered 
tanks, nicely cemented and tiled, sufficiently large for swimming. 
They are not very private places at all hours of the day, but 
one's delicacy is seldom shocked, for the swimmers are the politest 
people possible : as an instance, whilst bathing one morning, two 
youths accidentally intruded on my quarters, but recovering their 
equanimity, very civilly removed their head-gear and made a 
polite bow to me, while in the water ! 



LIMENEAN BEAUTIES. 437 



Drives there are none at all pleasurable for any extent around 
the city ; nor are the rides more so. The environs, in all direc- 
tions, are intersected by heavy and high mud walls, shutting out 
air and vision, leaving only heat and stifling clouds of dust to 
repay one's trouble. 

Lima itself should not be too narrowly criticised from the 
streets ; although without, naught is beheld save dingy, adobie 
walls, dusty cobwebbed lattices and balconies, half decayed, yet 
once pass the wide and lofty portals, and many of the best houses 
have noble suites of apartments, furnished with great taste and 
even splendor ; besides, that which gives, in a certain degree, an 
air of elegance, is the elaborate mazes of glass doors, gaily 
papered or frescoed walls, and a profusion of gilding. Light is 
usually thrown from the roof, and the houses are cool and pro- 
perly ventilated. 

After a few tertulias, and a pretty ball given by the American 
Charge, we had no other opportunities of mingling in Limenean 
society. There were quite a number of pretty women, with 
very fair complexions and winning manners, who danced like 
sylphs, as what Creole does not? Two youthful Senoritas, of 
some sixteen and seventeen years, were pointed out as little 
lumps of gold, of " purest ray serene," who were fiancee to their 
uncles, fine old gentlemen of sixty ! It was suggestive of a post- 
chaise and bandboxes to any successful aspirant to the ownership 
of a lovely pair of eyes. However, these out of the way alliances 
are quite common in Lima, and perhaps the fair ones, at a later 
era, begin to discover they have hearts of their own not to be sold 
to the highest bidder, like bills of exchange at the mart ! Very 
few of these deluded damsels, it may be reasonably presumed, 



438 CHAPTER LIII. 



when fully aware of their tender wrongs, can exclaim, in the 
words of the Spanish lady's ballad : 

* I will not falsify my vows for gold nor gain, 
Nor yet for all the fondest swains that ever lived in Spain." 



CHAPTER LIV. 

The public edifices of Lima, which are so closely connected 
with the History of the Conquest, and the bloody revolutionary 
struggles of Peru, have no other attributes, either in architec- 
tural beauty or position to recommend them. 

The Cathedral occupies nearly one side of the grand plaza ; 
the exterior is painfully decorated, without taste or system ; within 
is a solid silver altar, paintings of archbishops, and their earthly 
remains also, mummified in leather, and reposing in open coffins. 

The Viceroy's Palace fills the northern face of the square — a 
low, irregular collection of buildings — the lower parts, fronting 
the plaza and streets, occupied by small shopmen, similar to the 
hosts of tinkers, fringemen, hatters, and cooks beneath the oppo- 
site ranges of the por tales. Opening into the inner courtyard are 
the public offices and the private residence of the President, Ge- 
neral Castilla. He was a soldier of fortune, had risen from the 
ranks, and passed through many vicissitudes of life before being 
chosen the supreme governor of Peru ; not more surprising pro- 
bably even to himself, than the extraordinary anomaly, that he 
has held his position the four years since the election, without a 
revolution having arisen to disturb his tranquillity. This security 
he owed, in a measure, to his individual bravery and soldiership 
displayed in times past, and the belief generally entertained by 



440 CHAPTER LIV. 



dissatisfied persons of his upright character, and his indifference to 
execute summary vengeance on whomsoever should incur his dis- 
pleasure, by again involving the country in the turmoils of civil 
discord. 

The General and staff visited our frigate at Callao, and were 
received with manned yards and the usual artillery. In person 
he was about the middle stature, with a frank, bronzed face, and 
agreeable address. 

Many curious objects are pointed out within, or in the vicinity 
of the palace, rich in reminiscences of the Pizarros, and the 
tragic drama connected with the life and death of the Con- 
queror — the room wherein he was assassinated, and the balcony 
from whence he was afterwards hurled by the Almagros. 

The main Patio was thronged with troops of eager and expect- 
ant cormorants, who, my informant stated, were gentlemen in 
waiting upon the treasury — officers and emjpleados with large 
salaries in perspective — but, strange to say, the vaults were 
invariably empty ; or, in case there should be a surplus on hand, 
it is a description of money composed of so base a metal that it 
will not pass for one-fifth the nominal value out of Lima. 

A national museum has lately been established — a small enter- 
prise thus far, — containing a few Cacique antiquities, Island 
weapons and ornaments, a coat worn by Salaverry when he was 
murdered — bedabbled with mud and blood — and the walls are hung 
with portraits of the forty-seven Viceroys of Peru, but placed in so 
bad a light that, with few exceptions, the features and expression 
of the different rulers were indistinctly visible. They begin with 
Francisco Pizarro,* and are all miserably executed specimens of 

* This is the same portrait from which the engraving in Prescott's Peru is taken, 
but the latter bears but a faint resemblance to the original. 



WE VISIT THE OPERA. 441 



painting, without grace or harmony, and it would seem that the 
artists, in their anxiety to have them of a uniform length, in the 
absence of correct notions of drawing, have jammed heads and 
heels close up or down to the frames, leaving the intermediate 
portions of the person harsh and ungainly. 

The theatre is a mean edifice, and the immense rafters that 
uphold the flat roof are apt to keep a nervous person in the 
pit somewhat anxious and uneasy, anticipating a shock of the 
tremblor. It is sufficiently commodious, but badly ventilated, 
dimly lighted, and without decorations or scenic display. The 
first representation we attended was mediocrily performed by an 
Italian troupe — there were three prima donnas — who, apart from 
being ugly, which, of course, was no fault of theirs, were regard- 
less of taste or -execution, and all strove to outshout the other. 
Indeed, a fifth-rate artiste, coming so far abroad in these climes, 
deems it imperative to take a tip-top part ; besides, I have 
remarked among opera people, that there is always a cruel Em- 
pressario, who tyrannically will have something to say in the 
management of his theatre — very much to the disgust of the per- 
formers, and who is, moreover, expected to pay handsomely, even 
when the troupe cannot half fill the house. 

On the occasion referred to there were myriads of fleas, and 
what with Beatrice di Tenda — a donna in red — we were fain to quit 
the opera. Subsequently the performances were very creditable, 
and living in the same house with the Contralto and handsome 
Barry tone, we became enlisted in their clique, and did battle 
against the unreasonable manager. One evening, whilst assisting 
at Linda di Chamouni, between the acts I was sitting behind the 
scenes, in a temporarily-constructed saloon, condoling with the 
interesting Contralto, sympathising with her griefs, and admiring 
19* 



442 CHAPTER LIV. 



her open-worked clocked stockings — for she was costumed as a 
Swiss peasant — and when nearly wound up to a pitch of desperate 
frenzy, against the barbarous Empressario, the lady's tire woman 
tripped in. Signorina^ said she, la scena! The call-keeper's 
pipe chirped musically. I flew to the front, and getting com- 
fortably ensconced beside a lovely Limenean, with a little 
mouth like a slit in a rose-leaf, up flew the curtain. The 
scene was similar to one in Fra Biavolo, where Antonio 
returns down the mountain-steep after an unsuccesful search 
for the devil's brother ; lots of peasants, flower-girls, and a 
horde of attendants, had already ascended, together with the 
Contralto, and Linda herself, who weighed fourteen stone. 
Tap ! tap ! led the orchestral baton. Now began the cavatina. 
I was half entranced in melody, cigar-smoke, and the smiles 
of her with the rose-leaf mouth, Dona Margarita, when, as 
the sweet notes came trilling forth, in wreaths of exquisite 
harmony — crash ! scream ! crash ! — the platforms gave way ! 
The prima donna made a demi-volte, threw an involuntary 
summerset, and vanished head-foremost through Mont Blanc, 
severely damaging the picturesque village of Chamouni ; our 
friend the ' Cantatrice, and the little slashed trowsers and silk 
stockings, were seen plunging and struggling in an Alpine torrent of 
pasteboard. All was tottering scenery, shrieking supes, clouds 
of dust, terror, and confusion. Some villain had cut the cords 
that upheld the mountain-pass. Our Contralto warbler escaped 
without a blemish, but the unfortunate Prima was pulled out from 
beneath the treacherous planks in hysterics, and borne off kicking 
violently in the arms of stout peasants. Of course the play was 
ended : but there nearly arose a revolution in Lima that night, for 
it was strongly urged that the murderous Empressario had con- 



FONDA DE LOS BANOS. 443 



spired against his troupe, although, poor man, he swore until 
black in the visage, that he never dreamed of so heinous a crime ; 
and if he might be allowed a conjecture he should say, that it had 
been a little ballet got up among the Cantatrici themselves, to 
get rid of performing for a week or two ! but no one believed 
him. * 

Our hotel was the ' Fonda de los Banos, the best in Lima — 
faint praise this. It faces the cathedral in the plaza, and is a 
capital point of view for strangers desirous of seeing the motley 
panorama of the city from the balconies without mingling in the 
dust and fleas below. Our host was an old, frowsy -wigged French- 
man, pleasant and conversible, who made out the accounts with a 
crotchety style of caligraphy — fives and nines hardly to be dis- 
tinguished apart — although with never an error in your favor in 
the arithmetical calcule at bottom. The lady of the mansion was a 
fine-looking, although passe e person, who presided at table d'hote 
in grand tenu y and served coffee and italia for ckassc, with a little 
dessert of monte, if called for in the evening, at a side-table. 
Underneath the Fonda were billiard saloons and cafes, with 
warm baths adjoining. This establishment was cared for by a 
vdvacious gentleman, extremely popular with navy men, named 
Senor Zuderel. I would advise all homeless wanderers jour- 
neying towards Lima to seek lodgings at this Caravanserai. I 
was pleased mys-elf, and shall ever bear Monsieur and Madame 
Morin in agreeable recollection, for a correct knowledge of the 
world, tolerably well-served dinners, expensive wines, and a just 
appreciation of the sous entendio. 

It was my intention to have made a hasty visit to Churillos, a 
small fishing village on the sea coast, where, at certain seasons, 
all the world resort for bathing and gaming — both amusements 



444 CHAPTER LIV. 



carried on day and night without cessation ; but finding the time 
approaching for our departure, after spending eight days at Lima, 
one afternoon I buried my shoulders within a glaring red poncho — 
and was warned by Zuderel " not to carry much money, for fear of 
the ladrones," which I considered purely a supererogatory piece 
of advice, as any economical person may convince himself after 
a few days visit only ! — El que bebede las pilas se queda en Lima — 
He who drinks of the fountains will never leave Lima, is a favo- 
rite proverb. Inasmuch as I had only sparingly indulged in the 
delicious waters of the city, save when mingled with Bordeaux 
and pure blocks of ice brought from the Andes, I cannot be 
said to have entirely destroyed the truth of the adage ; so, trot- 
ting leisurely through plaza and streets — invoking a blessing from 
Our Lady — I pursued my ride beyond the gates, steering for 
Callao. It was thus I departed from the " Paradise of women, 
the purgatory of men, and hell of jackasses!" 
We sailed for Valparaiso. 



CHAPTER LV. 

We found Valparaiso very much improved since our first visit, 
more so, in fact, than would be generally believed for a Creole 
town. Streets had been newly paved and extended, whole 
squares of fine warehouses, and long rows of dwellings com- 
pleted ; all tending, with a rapid increase of population, to make 
the port most flourishing. As in the Islands and Callao, the dis- 
covery of the El Dorado of California had thrown the entire 
community into a state of feverish excitement, which was 
augmented by every fresh arrival. Ships touching here, no 
matter whither bound, or for what intent, were either bought 
before their anchors were down, or chartered for passengers or 
freight. Day by day vessels sailed, loaded high up the shrouds 
with any articles of merchandise that could hastily be thrown on 
board. The city was drained of wares and goods of every 
description ; merchants, clerks, artisans and mechanics were hur- 
rying, as fast as sails could bear them, to the swamps and sands 
of the Sacramento. Fortunes were made in a minute, and it only 
appeared necessary to purchase a ship and cargo at any price, and 
the day or hour after be offered twice the money for the bargain. 
One merchant actually paid twenty thousand hard dollars for the 
information contained in a letter from San Francisco — a more 
valuable missive was probably never penned. The mania was 



446 CHAPTER LV. 



equally violent throughout all classes of the community — natives, 
foreigners, men, women, and children. 

We mariners were merely lookers on, having neither cash nor 
commodities. Some of us talked of deserting, and scratching a 
little fortune of gold dust with our several digits ; others of 
resigning, and seeking employ in the merchant service ; but in 
the end we bore the good fortune of mankind around us, with 
philosophical equanimity, and remained contented with our lot. 

Notwithstanding this auri sacra fames , the same generous hos- 
pitality awaited us, at the hands of our countrymen, as of old, 
and we passed the time delightfully. 

The rides around Valparaiso are almost destitute of interest ; 
for many leagues the main roads lead over dry and hilly ground, 
with no relief from their dullness, except an occasional glimpse 
from some more elevated ridge, of the broad Pacific or the shining 
snow-capped Cordilleras far in the interior. Thr~e are neithei 
forests nor grasses, nor yet running water. Even in the most 
secluded valleys, the herbage is. pale and withered, and vegetation 
stunted. 

Excellent horses are easily found; and after passing ovei 
the paved streets at a slow gait, to escape lynx-eyed serenos y ever 
on the watch to recover a two-dollar fine from strangers for fast 
riding, you may then, at early morn, before the breeze stirs the 
fine, choking dust, or in the evening, when the high winds have 
expended their rage over the Plaianeha and Point of Angels, take 
a lively gallop with some degree of enjoyment. Our rides were 
usually along the Santiago road towards the post-house, where a 
nice breakfast was always procurable, through the kindness of a 
motherly Yorkshire dame, whose husband was at all times 



OUR COUNTRYWOMEN. 447 



particularly vinous ; the breakfast, however, never suffered on 
that score. 

The Chilians, men and women, ride admirably ; but there are 
none who indulge in this healthful exercise to a greater extent, 
and who sit the horse more gracefully and securely than our own 
fair countrywomen residing in Valparaiso ; and with all their mani- 
fold charms, they are accomplished in the proper understanding 
of a pic-nic. I am ignorant of the correct etymology of the word, 
but have heard it expounded as " all ham, and no punch ;" be this 
as it may, these agreeable ladies comprehend the thing thoroughly ; 
they know the most sequestered little glens for leagues around, 
when and where, and how to go ; they have their own spirited 
steeds, too, like their mistress's riding robes, always ready. The 
excursion is arranged in five minutes, so, cavaliers, you have only 
to send for horses and borrow a whip, and if you know of any troupe 
of more charming donas, pray don't keep it a secret. 

Out of the hot city, with veiled faces — up ravines and down 
dales — leave the dusty road — clear the hedges, and scamper over 
the upland downs, until we have lost sight of towns, suburbs, 
shipping, and harbor ; perhaps a pair of bright eyes looks back to the 
nice matrons who play propriety — pointing with a little gauntleted 
hand — " There ! in that shady glade, this side the Rancho" — 
winding about the declivities, we reach the base of a sheltered 
valley — we dismount, tie the animals, and then breaking through 
interlaced thickets of undergrowth and herbage, a little trickling 
rill will possibly be found, bubbling deep down the cleft of a 
ravine, on whose margin is a plot of grass, where we clear away 
the brushwood, spread saddle-cloths for the ladies, and make our- 
selves happy. 

Some one must go to the neighboring farm-house in search of 



448 CHAPTER LV. 



fruit — not everybody, for there are two country belles there, who 
keep a guitar, and put on airs of rustic coquetry — besides, it is 
not complimentary to the lovely ladies we attend, to be galli- 
vanting or straying elsewhere — they demand, by laws of chivalry, 
our homage, and they well deserve it. By and by, there appears a 
brown dame, with a huge tray of biscuits, peaches, " and a dish of 
ripe strawberries, all smothered in cream !" What a perfume ! 
" Hand over the alforgas, those pockets attached to saddle hous- 
ings. Oblige me, sir, by guarding this plethoric napkin of 
sandwiches ! Stop ! here's another ; don't let anybody take 
even a bite until the Seriora gives the word ! What is this ; a 
bottle of Xeres, as I'm a sinner — claret, too ! Ave Maria ! Get 
water somebody, and let me show you the art, acquired by long 
practice, of pulling a cork without a screw. There ! click ! 
click ! crack ! Cleverly done, eh ? Don't cut your deli- 
cate fingers, Senorita ! Are we ready ? — we are, and almost 
frantic." The time flits on pleasure's wings — the shadows from 
the crests of the surrounding heights are darkening the glen — the 
strawberries and sandwiches are all gone, and the bottles are 
dying marines. 

" Come, girls," say the Senoras, u we must be in time for din- 
ner. Caballeros you will dine with us ? — they never forget that — 
we shall dance in the evening, but not too late — to-morrow is 
Sunday." Now hurrah for the car r era — race. Be under no 
apprehensions, my friends, when you see those slight forms, with 
streaming tresses and dresses, flying by leap and bound over the 
narrow pathways, rocky descents and water-courses ! — have a care 
to your own horse, never mind your fair companions — their sure- 
footed steeds would race blindfolded, and, I doubt not, snap their 
legs short off, rather than injure the gentle beings who so easily 



BALLS AND TERTULIAS. 449 

guide them ! We soon reach the environs of the city, and with 
horses all in a foam, pace sedately through the streets, towards 
the terraced residences. 

The society of natives and foreigners is quite distinct in Val- 
paraiso, and general re-unions only take place at the monthly 
Philharmonic balls. Those we attended were very elegant and 
select assemblies, with a large proportion of beautiful women : all 
danced with charming grace, and were most becomingly attired 
with all the exquisite taste and refinement of French fashions ; and 
with a fine, brilliantly-lighted saloon, excellent orchestra, the 
white fluttering dresses of the women, gayly contrasting with the 
gleaming lace and bullion of hosts of officers from foreign ships of 
war, it made altogether as inspiriting and magnificent a display as 
can be found in any part of the world. 

The natives are seen with even more attractions in their social 
circles. The tertulia is ever an impromptu affair, and nothing 
is more calculated to preserve a happy current of friendly feeling 
anion c the youth of both sexes. There is no staid form or cere- 
mony : people meet for pleasure in the dance or love-making — 'tis 
all the same — everything is frank and companionable. 

Once get the entree and make friends with the kind Serlora — 
sip scalding mate, and never forget her at supper at the balls, or 
dukes for the ni/ias — you have the game in your own hands, and 
on velvet with the dear young doncellas, may whisper all the 
pretty speeches imaginable to downcast eyes at the piano or 
guitar, or blushing cheeks in waltz or polka ! I do not believe 
Spanish girls often break their hearts — they ache sometimes, 
perhaps, but are easily consoled — and I advise all who set up 
graven images, and who wish to be in good repute with dark-eyed 
Creole maidens, to send anonymous bouquets unceasingly, and of 



450 CHAPTER LV. 



course divulge the donors' names afterwards — 'tis a sure passport 
to the smiles of fair ladies everywhere, but these dear, little 
Chilians will positively adore you. 

In a former sketch of Valparaiso, I touched upon the quiet, 
cool retreats perched on the salient crests of the adjacent hills. 
One of these terraces, Monte Allegro, is the beauty-spot of Valpa- 
raiso. Ah ! the agreeable dinners, tea-parties, promenades and 
dances, given there by the charming residents, from the little bal- 
conied house in the rear, to the entire cottage-range in front ! 
Heaven help us ! we owe them many a debt of gratitude we may 
never be able to repay, save in kindly remembrance to all. There 
was one, too — 

u Of all that sets young hearts romancing, 
She was our queen — our rose — our star ; 
And when she danced— O ! Heaven ! her dancing !"— 

Ah ! Dona Pepe ! I may never forgive the malicious delight you 
exhibited at the Filharmonica, where the thin lady took a first 
lesson in the polka — may Terpsichore and all the Graces of the 
light fantastic toe befriend her ! — but yet, although a few months 
have borne me thousands of leagues away, I still preserve your 
little flower, and shall ever remember our parting among the 
brightest of lingering things in Valparaiso. 

Aside from the lovely living attractions of this little cielo, 
it has much else to recommend it. In the calm nights you can 
stand on its lofty esplanade, towering above the heart of the city, 
and look down upon the world below. The faces of the tops, with 
the steep sides of the quebradas, are twinkling with myriads 
on myriads of bright lights — long streets and avenues are seen 
coursing in the opposite direction along the Almendral, dotted and 
sparkling with cab and lantern hurrying to and fro, until far 



MONTE ALLEGRO. 451 



away, all is blended in one even line of perspective ; and perhaps 
there is seen a procession of flickering torches winding up the 
Campo Santo, bearing some unconscious clay to a last home ; then, 
when the guns from forts and ships have ceased their everlasting 
peals among the hills, music from different vessels of war arises 
in delicious strains, clearly and distinctly, from the port — while 
their black hulls, illumined sides, spars and rigging, are reposing 
motionless, with mazy shadows mingling with the starry reflec- 
tions upon the polished surface of the bay from the blue vault 
above. The whole scene is framed by the crowning heights 
circling around the city, and the base is girdled by the glittering 
waters of the ocean. 

I was never tired of musing over this bright and varied pic- 
ture, or inhaling the sweet perfume of the florayondia blooming 
on the terrace. It is a spot to which the innocent children, who 
now sport there in unconscious gayety, will one day turn from all 
the toil and strife of future years, and smother many a sigh for 
the joyful reminiscences of their childhood. 

Adieu to thee, Monte Allegro ! May the dread earthquake 
never blanch the cheeks of those who tread thy brow, or rend 
thy firm feet from their foundation. 



CHAPTER LVI. 

Homeward Bound ! A loud report from the frigate's bow 
gun, and before the smoke had vanished, the cornet was fluttering 
at the mast-head — a signal for sailing. The brave boatswain and 
his lusty mates blew ear-splitting notes from deck to deck — the 
roar of hoarse voices resounded deep within the bowels of the 
ship, " All hands, up anchor for home !" The capstans spun 
around like tops — the fifers played their merriest jigs- — the crew 
danced with glee — " pall the capstan!" The well-worn sails 
again fell from the yards, and as the puffs of wind came stealthily 
over the Point of Angels, the noble frigate turned slowly on her 
keel, in gladness sprang away, and bade adieu to Valparaiso. 

In a few days the batteries of heavy guns were drawn in, 
their frowning muzzles lashed to the staunch bulwarks, and the 
windows of the ship closed to the buffettings of the sea. We 
passed in sight of Juan Fernandez, and, soon after, the wind 
befriended us, and with broad wings we flew towards Cape Horn. 
One dark night, another of the unfortunate maintop men was lost 
overboard : he had been born and bred upon the ocean, and thus 
singularly met his watery grave. 

Rain, snows, and storms came over us, but on the seventeenth 
day we doubled the tempestuous Cape Horn, where we saw a 



THE CRUISE IS OYER. 453 



dozen ships, with gold ! gold ! painted in perspective, on every 
seam of their broad topsails. Leaving the Falkland Islands, we 
steered boldly into the Atlantic, and went on our swift course 
joyfully. 

The strong favoring gales seemed never to tire in efforts to 
urge us onward. The very sea-birds ga^e over chasing us, all 
save a venerable couple of grey -backed albatross, who with inde- 
fatigable energy followed us for three thousand miles. Again we 
crossed the tropics — the southern cross paled below the horizon — 
the pole-star, gleaming dimly at first, rose and rose until sparkling 
high in the heavens. Again we splashed through the haunts of 
flying-fish and nautilus, until, on the sixty-third day, there came 
the loud cry of " Land, ho !" 

Shortly after, our noble ship — that had borne us in safety fifty- 
five thousand miles — let fall her anchors, for the last time, within 
the waters of the Chesapeake. 



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